


I jumped into the sea of time (and drowned with a smile)

by FuzzyBlanketsAreBasicallyLikeSex



Category: Naruto
Genre: Amputation, F/M, Family Bonding, Father Figures, Father-Son Relationship, Fuuinjutsu Master Uzumaki Naruto, Gen, Hatake Kakashi is a Troll, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Nohara Rin Lives, Past Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:28:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 62,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22292578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuzzyBlanketsAreBasicallyLikeSex/pseuds/FuzzyBlanketsAreBasicallyLikeSex
Summary: Obito.Pinned under a boulder, four feet in front of him. He looked so tiny compared to the size of it, just a little boy in a world of pain. It was almost a blessing he was unconscious. Scrambling forward on all fours, Naruto’s warm hands reached out to Obito’s left, flinching back at the cold feeling of his fingers. Immediately concerned, Naruto grabbed the hand firmly, rubbing it to get some heat back. He made very sure to not smear any of his blood on Obito’s hand, or the wrist of his jacket. Obito’s wrist was so tiny, Naruto could touch his fingers together around it. But at least it still held a pulse.Suddenly feeling unbelievably sad and relieved at the same time, Naruto couldn't stop the tears coming to his eyes. Leaning forward, he hunched over, touching his forehead to the side of Obito’s temple, relieved tears dripping onto the harsh stone below.“Obito,” he whispered. “I found you.”
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Uchiha Obito, Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama & Uzumaki Naruto, Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina, Uchiha Obito & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 311
Kudos: 2131
Collections: A Collection of Beloved Inserts, Extraordinary Naruto FanFics, Team 7 🌀, best fic collection ever read, why im sleep deprived 💖✨, wwwwwww





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I've posted this story before, I just got discouraged and deleted it but now I'm going to actually do my best on it. I'm sorry if any of you have seen this before, I really am going to try this time.

The evening sun shone weakly through a small, dusty window, bringing paltry light to a small, dusty apartment. Inside said apartment sat a man with yellow hair and thick whiskers, and eyes of the clearest blue. A pink tongue poked out of the side of his mouth, brow furrowed with intense concentration, hand moving haltingly over a slip of paper, a thick brush leaving splashes of ink with every stroke. Countless others laid strewn about the living room, coexisting alongside dirty brushes and half used jars of ink. Old plates of food joined the mess, flies hovering erratically, ravenous for the next meal.

The man ignored the buzzing, needing absolute focus for what he was doing. Every stroke of his brush brought to life another intricate mark, filling most of the paper with his dedicated work. He needed the utmost concentration, the most dedicated silence, the utter-.

“Naruto.”

Naruto startled in exhausted surprise, tensing out of long ingrained habit, hands automatically moving to form a sign for his signature move, flaring with his chakra. Unfortunately, the brush moved with him, cutting a jagged line across the half completed sealing array. Almost tauntingly, chakra crackled across the array mere seconds after moving his hand, turning the black of the ink into a dark red mess.

Naruto didn’t even have time to think, hurling himself away from the table with a yell of panic mixed with irritation. Cursing abhorrently, he darted backwards, towards the opposite wall of his tiny living room. He barely made it to the corner of the room before the table made an odd creaking sound before, quite literally, getting blown to fucking pieces. 

Hundreds of tiny shards of wood careened out of the mushroom explosion, glowing red with heat and murderous intent. The cheap ceramic of the ink pots around the room didn’t even stand a chance. They shattered easily, the shards of wood and clay getting coated with dark ink, sending it splattering across the room. The flies buzzed with panic, their food forgotten as they tried desperately to survive the sudden onslaught of inky shrapnel. Naturally, the food beneath them fell victim to it as well, sent flying into the air to join the army of Naruto and Kurama’s creating.

Naruto watched with horrified eyes as his living room got destroyed, pieces of wood, ceramic, and dead insects hurtling through the air. Screeching in wild terror, he summoned a clone and ducked down behind it, hiding behind it’s legs. The clone barely had time to register what was coming towards it, before an armada of gross smacked it across the face with angry vengeance. Old food, dead flies, and crusty ink pots took it out in seconds. It started to speak before it dispelled, but couldn't manage to get anything out before disappearing, debris hovering momentarily in the air before drifting down, leaving the room now oddly quiet.

Naruto, unfortunately, finished it’s sentence for it. “Oh god, I can taste it.”

Naruto gagged frantically, still crouched on his living room floor. He scratched at his tongue with blunt nails even though, realistically, it was all in his head. Speaking of heads, the fox in his was sheepishly silent. He seemed to be waiting for a good opportunity to speak, and found it as Naruto finally quieted, scrubbing at his tongue with his shirt collar. “In my defense,” Kurama said slowly. “I don’t know much about seals.”

Naruto went completely still, the wet shirt still plastered onto his tongue. He stared blankly at the hardwood floor, trying to get a grasp on what came out of his partners mouth. It didn’t take long before he started screeching.

“Whath kanth oth thuthhhit-.” Naruto stopped and spit the shirt of his mouth, just so he could yell clearly. Sure, he could yell mentally, but physically always got his point across better. Just ask his friends. 

“What kind of BULLSHIT is that?” He yelled, standing up in the heat of the moment. He gestured at the air, scowling at the wall. “You’ve lived inside THREE Seal Masters, one of them being me! How in the HELL do you not know much about seals?” Naruto demanded.

“Hey,” Kurama snapped at him. “I was asleep for ninety percent of the time. It’s not my fault your predecessors lives were so boring!”

“Don’t you call my mother boring,” Naruto squawked, offended. He picked carefully around the warzone that was his living room, navigating towards the bathroom. Inside his head (or was it his stomach?) Kurama was spitefully chanting. “Boring boring boring boring TO-MA-TO FACE.” For a thousand year old being of mass destruction, he could be awfully childish, in Naruto’s opinion.

Sending a mental middle finger towards his companion, Naruto jiggled open the lock to his tiny bathroom, stumbling his way towards the sink. He needed to wash off the ink from the past day along with the spit on his hands. Starting up the water, Naruto scrubbed at them, taking a moment to get under his nails like Sakura had taught him. Once he judged them clean, he leaned over and splashed a small amount of water on his face, rubbing at the oily skin around his nose. Flicking off the water with the back of his hand, he straightened up, using the inside bottom of his shirt to scrub the water off. Lowering it, he got a good look at himself in the mirror.

In the past two years since the War, Naruto had grown taller, and looked older than his age. He studied himself in the mirror, rubbing a hand over his short stubble, a result of not shaving for a few days. Though it was brief, the War had aged him in ways he couldn’t really explain. Although he was still mostly the same Naruto, his face still friendly and open, it was somehow more serious at the same time. There was a hardness to his eyes now, the steel sharpened into a razor point. What used to be a hammer was now a finely honed blade, too tempered to ever shatter again, like it had in the past. Though he had always been his mother’s son, he now really did have his father’s eyes.

Naruto didn’t notice Kurama go quiet as he stared at himself, lost in his thoughts. Softly, he spoke up. “I was mostly joking, brat. I could tell it was a space-time seal, but what were you doing messing with it on the living room table? I know I’ve been asleep for a few months but I didn’t think you could get any dumber in that short of a time.”

Naruto didn’t look away from the mirror, finger pulling down his eyelid as he stared at his eyes. A small smile quirked at the corner of his mouth at Kurama’s words, showing a hint of a canine. “I want to recreate the Hiraishin for everyday use. I took it on as a project to better my chance at being the next Hokage after Kakashi. I know I’m a shoe-in for it, but at least this way I’ve got more cards in my deck, and the Village gets an advantage.”

Despite the Major Villages declaring peace with each other, there was still conflict in the Elemental Nations. War defectors, bandits, and Nukenin had created bands of vagabonds across the continent, terrorizing smaller villages and targeting shipping and trading outposts. Taking advantage of the craziness of the war, many shinobi had defected, joining old comrades and rising against the larger villages. They weren’t really a threat, but they were definitely an annoyance. 

“It would be great if we had a squad that knew how to use it, to surprise anybody looking to attack us, ya know?” Naruto mused. “I just need to figure out what seal array to use, and then we’ll be right on track.” Granted, it was taking him longer than he thought, but he’d get there eventually.

Taking a second to thump his head against the mirror, Naruto breathed out a gust of war air onto the glass. His head hurt from so many days of intense studying, but he had to get this done. This was really important to him actually, because he saw it as a way to connect with both of his parents. Sure, his father had made the seal, but his mother had helped teach him how to seal in the first place. Also, it would help defend Konoha, which was always a plus in Naruto’s book.

“Man,” he thought. “I really need to figure out this damn array. Dammit Pops, couldn’t you have left any notes?”

Naruto had started learning about seals after the war, curiosity and a want to be closer to his parents driving him. Especially because he had a last name with so much history behind it, and he wanted to honor it for both himself, and his mother. How could he call himself an Uzumaki if he didn’t even try to learn about his heritage? For all that he had his father's coloring, he was his mother's son, through and through. 

While that may have been great most other days, today was not one of them. Not when he was trying to crack his father's seal with his mother's mindset. Minato was straight to the point, always doing things by the book, and thought firmly inside the box. Kushina, on the other hand, thought like Naruto did. Upside down, backwards, sideways, every which way until they understood, because they simply couldn’t abide by anything that was so uniform. They had to come at it their own way, with their own little flare, because everyone else's thought process seemed just so standard. It’s what made them Uzumaki’s. Right now, though, Naruto wished for just one glimpse inside his father’s mind, to see how he thought of this thrice-damned seal. What good were his father’s eyes going to do him if he couldn’t even see things like Minato did, at least when he needed to?

“Dumbass, you’re playing with fire, and even you're smart enough to know it.” Kurama chided from inside Naruto’s seal.

“Hey Kurama, is a space-time seal, it doesn’t have a fire element,” he quipped, making Kurama grumble in annoyance.

Naruto didn’t pay him much attention, instead choosing to sniff dubiously at his left armpit, drawing away from the mirror. It had been a long three days, that was for sure. He couldn’t even remember when he’d last had a shower. A good four days, at least. Probably.

He reached over and turned his shower handle to the hottest setting, giving it a good whack or two to get started. Holding his breath, Naruto ripped his stained shirt over his head, flailing for a minute as it got caught around his ears. Shaking it off, Naruto carefully tossed it into a corner. He knew he wasn’t imagining the smog that rose up around it, no matter what common sense said.

Kurama’s face appeared in his mind, the fox temporarily drawing him in just so he could see it. He put one hand in the air, palm facing up, and hunched his shoulders. Scrunching his face up, he gave Naruto a look. Naruto could tell the hand was saying the ‘The fuck?’ already, but the face made it clear.

Kurama put his hand down, and his head down with it. Shaking it, he states, “I stand corrected, you are that much dumber after a few months. Take a fucking shower, moron, you stink. Call me again if you blow up another seal.”

“Whatever, Kurama, that was your fault and you know it,” Naruto huffed. Why couldn’t the fox just believe in him without question for once. Who was Kurama to question his methods, the fox didn’t know much about seals either, which he had admitted. Naruto completely chose to ignore the fact that Kurama said he was joking, because he was tactful like that. And he didn’t stink damnit!

Coming back to himself, Naruto hopped into the shower, gradually relaxing as the warm water ran over him. He lathered up a washcloth, and rubbed it soothingly over himself. Once clean, he started the process of working shampoo and conditioner through his thick hair. He grimaced at the waxy feeling of his scalp, but there was only so much he could do about that right now. It would take days of washing for his hair to go back to normal, and he knew it. Once Naruto’s head was clean too, he took another moment to think. A few days of just concentrating on seals had taken it out of him, and now he had a moment to contemplate on the happenings of the village.

A lot had happened since the war, and it had been a stressful few years for everyone. When all was said and done with the War, the Allied Shinobi had collected the bodies of their allies from the battlefield, separating the remains depending on their village. Any enemy bodies they found were not given the honor of a resting place, their corpses tossed on a pile and burned.

Horrifically, there were too many Allied bodies to realistically carry back to their respective villages. Kumogakure had done the job of creating mass graves, while the rest of the villages collected their shinobi’s headbands. It wasn’t well advertised, but under each shinobi headband there was a number carved into the metal with chakra, and a seal to keep the band itself from being destroyed. When a team couldn’t afford to take back a body, it was common practice to retrieve the headband with their teammates number, in order to properly honor their sacrifice for the village and to ease their families grief. 

Naruto didn’t think he could ever forget taking a comrades headband off, especially one handed. Sasuke had to help him with steadying the heads, because otherwise they’d roll back unnaturally. The first (and only) time he tried it by himself, he had cried hysterically over the woman’s cool body, chanting his apologies. Sasuke had to drag him away by the back of his shirt, and didn’t protest about helping him for the rest of the time they worked.

Once home, funerals had been held, but not just for the shinobi. When everyone had been encased by Kaguya, a lot of people were too weak to survive having their chakra drained. A lot of people had been in mid surgery, or mid swim, or doing something else somewhat dangerous. Many infants, elderly, and sick people had died. There were a few cases where a mother had been giving birth when they were cocooned, and they and or the baby hadn’t gotten medical assistance in time. A lot of people swimming had been too disoriented after being released, which led to drowning. Fishing dead bodies out of the Naka River with his countrymen was not a memory he liked to look back on. That time, he had to help Sasuke drag them out, as you couldn’t get a good grip with only one hand, no matter how strong your arm was. Trying to use chakra to stick to them was also a bad idea, as the bodies were bloated, the skin weakened. Sasuke, finding out personally what happened when you tried it, had slept on his couch that night, and Naruto didn’t say a word.

The population of every village and town had been hit pretty hard, and the mood for the past two years had been low pretty much country wide. Naruto was hoping that with the new memorial being erected in the center of the battleground, people would be able to finally resolve their grief. It had been warring on him for a long time now, and even his bright spirit seemed a little dull around the edges. Everyone was trying their best, but they still had a long way to go.

Turning off the water, Naruto hopped out of the shower and made his way back to the mirror. Shaking his hair out, he looked at his pasty right arm. It had barely tanned at all since he had gotten it a year and a half ago. It still didn’t feel like a part of him, and Naruto doubted it ever would. But it was better than Sasuke, that asshole, walking around with one arm. Naruto had enough to worry about, he didn’t need his dumpster fire of a brother weighing down his mind. It’d be a lot more beneficial for everyone involved if Sasuke finally got an arm, just so they didn’t have to worry about his stubborn ass being taken down because he didn’t have the reach to block an attack. Shaking his head, he grabbed a towel from the shelf above the toilet, toweling off his hair with it. Opening the closet, Naruto also grabbed a pair of clean boxers that he kept in there for convenience.

Half-naked, Naruto wandered back into the living room, picking his way around the mess on the floor. He wanted to be completely dressed before he started cleaning up the mess of his living room, as being mostly undressed while cleaning felt weird. God forbid someone walk into his house while he was cleaning, or they’d get a show Naruto didn’t want to give. Naruto idly wormed the towel around his shoulders, using it to rub at his ears.

Too busy digging out water out of his ear as he made his way through the carnage, Naruto didn’t notice the sealing brush lying on the floor, thrown around by the explosion. Such a small, innocent tool it was. Sitting there, covered in ink, minding its own business; it was going to change Naruto’s life forever. One more unaware step forward, and a tan foot lands straight in the middle. Naruto's ankle, weakend from sitting seiza for weeks on end, rolled sharply to the right. He pitched forward, hand slapping down to land in the middle of a pile of half completed seals, chakra once again flaring in response. In a pile of half completed, botched space-time seals. The ominous, multi colored glowing chilled Naruto to the core.

“Oh god, this is bad.” Was the last thought Naruto had before the world turned white.

-0-0-0- 

Light

Darkness

The wind, screaming

Dead silence

Overwhelming heat

Icy cold

Terror, panic, worry, where am I who am I what did I do how did I do this

“Damnit Naruto, I told you so!”

Falling, falling, falling

A commet through time

Impact

Pain. 

-0-0-0-

“....to...ak….up.”

What was that? Everything was so fuzzy.

“...ruto, wake up.”

Wake up? He didn’t want to wake up. It was so nice here. He was so warm, it was so dark. 

“NARUTO. Wake UP!”

“Kurama…” Naruto thought. That's Kurama, that was his friend, his partner. By his side since the moment he was conceived. Kurama needed him to wake up. So Naruto had to wake up. Fighting through the darkness, Naruto drove himself towards the light, towards wakefulness. He had to get up. He had to help Kurama, his precious friend.

-0-0-0-

Shooting upright with a gasp, pain spasmed throughout Naruto’s whole body. Everything hurt like hell. His joints, his muscles, his teeth. Fuck, even his nailbeds hurt. All he wanted to do was go back to the darkness, but he couldn’t, Kurama needed him. Looking around him, he was in a grassy clearing, about late evening. It was chilly, and he was mostly naked, and he really just wanted some pants, but all he had was that shitty towel, still around his shoulders. He’s pretty sure there's grass between his asscheeks.

“Kurama,” he rasped. “What happened?”

“You played with fire, and you got burnt. I told you something would happen, and it did.” Kurama rumbled.

Naruto shook his head, trying to make sense of what was going on. Where the hell was he, and why did something not feel right? Naruto knew he’d been transported somewhere, possibly to one of his dad’s old markers if he was lucky. But still, there was something he couldn’t put his finger on, some disquieted feeling inside his chest. 

“Naruto, I need you to listen to me. Everything will be alright, you just need to keep calm, you hear?” Kurama spoke sharply, voice firm, yet also kind of off. It freaked Naruto out, as he’d only heard Kurama speak like this a handful of times.

“What do you mean, keep calm?” Naruto asked. “I just got transported to somewhere random, right? I mean, sure, it’ll suck to get back home and explain what I did to Granny, but she’ll laugh eventually. Why are you acting so strange, Kurama?” He just needed Kurama to spit it out.

And Kurama did. “Naruto, I can sense a lot of chakra signatures that I shouldn’t be able to.”

Naruto went silent, freezing in place, cloudiness vanishing from his head. Even for an idiot, it wasn’t that hard to work out. A raw space-time seal, a little bit of wild chakra, and a dash of Bijuu made for a horrible recipe. Add in Naruto’s teeter-totter luck, and he could pretty well work out what happened just by that sentence. Throwing his chakra out like Karen had shown him, Naruto confirmed it for himself.

“We’re in the past, aren’t we.” It was more a statement than a question.

“Yup.”

-0-0-0-

“This can’t be happening.” Naruto’s hands were tented over his mouth, blowing hot air out onto his palms to keep them warm. It also served as a way to keep him calm as he counted his breaths, focusing on the rhythm of it.

“Pretty sure we established that it already did.”

“Nope, nuh-uh, I don’t remember that, stop putting words in my mouth.” There goes the rhythm.

“Naruto, you’re panicking. Your panicking is making me panic, and truth be told I’m panicking pretty hard myself.” Kurama reluctantly admitted, which just made Naruto feel worse.

Naruto paced relentlessly around the clearing he arrived in, towel now around his waist, trying to take deep breaths. He really was trying to calm down, but it wasn’t going well. His hands wouldn’t stop shaking. The rest of him was fine, physically, just sore. But his hands wouldn’t stop shaking, no matter how much he tried to puff on them. How was he going to defend himself with his hands shaking like this? He couldn’t make signs, he couldn’t throw a kunai, he couldn’t do anything, he-he-he couldn't breathe. Dammit, his hands won’t stop shaking and now he couldn’t breathe and all he wanted was to go home. He wanted his friends, his family, his bed. He wanted anything familiar.

Familiar.

“Hey wait,” he whispered to himself. “Dad is here. Mom is here. Kakashi sensei is here. He’s tiny, but he’s here, with his team. Dad and Rin and-.”

Obito. Obito was here, Obito was alive, Obito was still just a kid.

He could be changed, Mom and Dad could be saved, Neiji and everybody else could be saved. Naruto could change everything. All he had to do was find Obito and bring him back or keep him in the village, that’s all. Just put Obito with the other Uchiha’s, and he’d be right to how he was before, and everyone would be saved. Look at that, he’d been here only a few minutes and had already come up with an awesome plan. Then he could go home, where he belonged. A quick little side quest, and maybe Dad would help him for saving Obito, and then he’d get to go home.

“But would that save Obito?” Kurama asked quietly. Naruto hadn’t realized he’d been speaking aloud. The fox sounded weird, which Naruto didn’t really pick up on. He was lost in his head, having the second panic attack of his life. The first was when he hyperventilated himself unconscious when he was with Yamato, hunting down Sasuke. Oh God, he couldn’t feel Sasuke, was he not born yet? Or Sakura, where was Sakura?

“What do you mean, Kurama?” Naruto managed to mutter out, still pacing. He couldn’t think, and the only thing keeping him grounded was the thought of helping Obito, and helping his past (Future? He wasn’t even conceived yet) self. He didn’t even notice Kurama drawing him into his mindscape, hunkering down to look at Naruto better.

“I’m going to be completely, one hundred percent honest with you, Naruto. You’re being irrational. I get that you’re a little hysterical right now, but that is not an excuse and you know it. Obito has always been a black mark on your life, since the day you were born. I know you hate to hear it, but it’s true. You hate what he did to the village, even though you forgave him. You hate what he did to your parents, even though you forgave him. You hate what he did to YOU, even though you still forgave him.”

Naruto stood stock still, staring hard at the ground, heaving air into his shaking hands. Yellow locks cast a shadow over his face, hiding his expression from Kurama. He had no idea what to say, but that didn’t matter, as Kurama wasn’t done.

“But most of all, more than all of that, you hate yourself more, for not being able to save him. He was your biggest failure, your biggest defeat in a way, even though you won the War. You got him to change, you got him to feel, you got him to want to come HOME and be the person he was. And you still couldn’t save him. All that emotion, all that compassion, all that hope, and you still couldn’t save him. And you thought you had time to get over that, but now he’s alive, and you’re afraid, and trying to feel brave by helping somebody.”

Kurama took a breath. “And now you’re ready to find him, wherever he is now, and shove him back into an unloving home just to feel better about yourself. To feel better about being stuck in a shitty, scary situation. Which, I get it, I do. You’re trying to take the easy way out, because this is the first time you’ve had that option, right? And maybe Minato would be grateful for your help, and would help you get home, but at what cost? Obito’s happiness? His career? There's gotta be another way kid, and you know it.”

Kurama finally paused for a minute, looking down at Naruto for a response.

Naruto finally took a deep breath, shoulders slumping, head still down. His hands fell away from his mouth, clenching at his waist, shaking starting to lessen. Naruto finally raised his head, tears streaming down his face, “I know you’re right Kurama, and I’m sorry. I was panicking so much though, Kurama, I really was, and it seemed like a good idea. I’m sorry for not thinking it through, and you’re right, that wouldn’t be fair to anybody, not really. I just don’t know what to do!”

“I know kid, I know. You got in over your head for a minute there, but that’s why I’m here to bring you back.” Kurama reassured him, uncharacteristically soft. As much as it embarrassed Naruto to admit to being afraid, Kurama had always been there in his lowest moments. If he couldn't confide in Kurama, he couldn’t confide in anybody.

Feeling like a scolded child, Naruto kicked his foot through the weird sewer water, the towel around his waist swaying with the movement. He was steadily coming back to himself, his bounding pulse slowing down as he calmed down. He wiped his eyes with the palm of his hand. “I should probably just find a way back to our time on my own, shouldn’t I? I’ll keep him from going on the Kanabi mission, and then leave him alone until I go back. That would be the best thing for everyone.”

Seemingly about to agree, Kurama opened his mouth, but then very obviously tensed. Naruto watched, uncomprehending as Kurama closed his eyes, brow fouroughing as he obviously focused on something. His nose twitched, along with his brow, working on finding something. Snapping his eyes open abruptly, Kurama focused on Naruto again, looking grave.

“What’s wrong?” Naruto barked out, back straightening. He didn’t like that look on Kurama’s face, as he knew it meant something serious.

“I just felt a chakra spike coming a few kilometers from the North. And it’s Hatake. And he’s with Minato and that Rin girl, but that’s the thing. There’s no Obito within 3 kilometers of them. His chakra signature is incredibly weak, Naruto, and very far back.”

Naruto felt the blood drain from his face, coming to the same conclusion as Kurama. “Shit, we’re too late.”

Kurama shook his head. “Madara hasn’t got him, not yet. But he will, Naruto, if we don’t get there first. We don’t have the option to leave him alone now, that's out the window. We need to hurry.”

Naruto didn’t hesitate, leaving his mindscape and taking off into the trees surrounding him. He absently reached down and cinched the towel tighter around him, not willing to barrel practically naked through the forest, no matter how urgent the situation was.

Naruto’s face twisted into an angry snarl. “Shit shit shit, why am I always too fucking late when it comes to Obito!” he spat.

“Naruto, calm down. He’s still alive, at least for now. Getting to him before Madara does is the most important thing, everything else can come second.” Kurama reminded.

Naruto didn’t say anything back, focused instead on darting through the trees. Obito might have been just three kilometers away from his father’s team, but Naruto could sense Obito was twenty away from where he crash landed. It might not have seemed like very far for a ninja, but time was of the essence here. Naruto might be able to get to him before Madara, but it didn’t mean all was in the clear. Obito was still vitally injured, and Naruto’s healing wasn’t as good as he’d like it to be, especially when he was weakened. He needed to get to Obito, as quickly as possible.

Naruto hurtled through the woods as fast as he could, pushing as much chakra into his legs as possible. It didn’t matter how exhausted he got, he had to keep going. Taking a break wasn’t an option, not when a child’s life was on the line. One he had already failed in adulthood. After what felt like an eternity of running, Kurama spoke once again.

“Naruto, 2 kilometers out. Be careful.”

Naruto’s eyes narrowed in determination, steel shining. “Believe it.”

-0-0-0-

Naruto landed on the boulder pile above Obito gently, immediately dropping to a crouch as he scanned the area. A quick projection of chakra revealed only one signature, weak but there. And it was directly below him. He scooted to the edge and dropped down onto the cold dirt.

“Kurama.” he muttered. “Know any good earth jutsu to get me under here? I don’t want to move all these boulders yet, they’re probably stopping him from bleeding out, from what I heard about what happened from Kakashi.” Kakashi had told him the whole story of what had happened to his teammate, and while Naruto didn’t know much about medicine, he knew enough to know it was a very real probability Obito could die after they moved the boulders pinning him.

The fox mentally shook his head. “Sorry kid, I don’t. You’re going to have to dig your way down if you don’t want to blow him out. I’ve got a bit of chakra I can spare for some clones, but if I give it to you I’m out for a couple of days. I used the rest keeping you from being torn apart on the way back.”

Naruto nodded, forming a familiar seal. “Yeah Kurama, thank you. I’ll take it from here, get some rest.” Sure, Naruto didn’t want to be in the past by himself for any length of time, but this was the only option to extract Obito safely. That was all that mattered to Naruto right now.

“Good luck, brat.”

Naruto felt Kurama’s presence fade to the back of his mind as fiery reserve chakra flowed into him. Wordlessly, Naruto siphoned energy to his hands as he thought of what he wanted, and several shadow clones popped into existence with barely a sound. A look of resolve came across all of their faces as they looked at their creator, white towels glaring in the moonlight. One pointed accusingly at him, and Naruto knew that was the one he sacrificed to his accidental bomb.

“Alright guys, you know what’s up! Let’s get to work!”

“Yosh!”

“Got it, boss!”

“I hope you tasted it, you fucker.”

-0-0-0-

Naruto helped his clones dig, barely paying attention to their idle chatter, nerves getting to all of them. They were all being extremely careful not to shift the dirt too much, as it could mean the pile collapsing even more. They’d been at this so long that the moon was already shining down. Without Kurama helping to heal him as much as before, Naruto’s fingernails had quickly turned bloody from the hard ground. Regretfully, he’d lost a few already. A group of clones to his right started to make some more noise.

“Boss, I think we’re almost there!”

“Come on guys, a little more backbone.” 

“Hey, I think I see an opening!”

All Naruto's heads snapped up at the last statement, everybody going quiet at once. The original Naruto reacted first, sailing across a group of clones as he leaped over. He landed in a crouch, peering down into the cave while all the rest of the clones gathered behind him. There was a very clear opening into some sort of room, just big enough for Naruto to squeeze down.

“Thanks guys, but we’re not done yet. I need a plank of wood I can strap him to, we need to secure his spine and keep him steady while moving him. He went down pretty hard when that boulder hit, I don’t want to jostle it. Smooth it down however you can, but I need it yesterday!”

The clones shared all of Naruto experiences, and knew that what they needed was a stretcher of some sort. Being realistic, Naruto knew that even when he healed Obito, there might still be some damage he didn’t catch. Until he knew for sure, Naruto wasn’t risking anything. He’d had too many hours of Sakura beating basic trauma first aid into him to even think about it.

“Boss, what are you going to tie him down with?”

Naruto glanced down at his towel as he stripped it off, leaving him in only his underwear. He handed it to the clone. “Rip that into strips, will you? I’m going down to him, try to keep it as clean as possible.”

Underwear clad, Naruto slipped down through the hole, struggling into the cavern. He landed lightly and crept forward, crouching as the ceiling got lower. “Obito? Obito, where are you? Kiddo, I need you to answer me. Any noise you can make, bud, just something will work.”

Frowning in worry, Naruto kept creeping through the rocks scattered over the ground. He felt around as much as he was able, but he wasn’t able to see much. HIs chakra sensing told him Obito was here, but he was still too unskilled to pinpoint an exact area, especially with all the rocks in the way. Naruto didn’t even know if he could still go into Sage Mode, and didn’t want to try until he found out if he could still summon the Toads, leaving him with no real options other than to search by hand. The only light coming in was from the moonlight outside, so Naruto couldn’t even see that much. God, what he would give for a flare right now.

Throwing an unpleasant look over his shoulder at the hole in the ceiling, Naruto puffed out a visible breath, unsurprising as it was colder underground. Naruto turned back around, gaze almost passing over a small alcove between the boulders. Eyes widening slightly, Naruto’s head whipped back around, staring at it.

Something told him that’s where he needed to go, right now.

Naruto scuttled forward, wiggling into the small opening like his life depended on it. And in a fucked up way, it kinda did. Sucking in as much as he could, he wiggled his way into the gap as quickly as possible, sending a passing prayer to whatever God out there that he would be able to fit through. It seemed to take forever, but Naruto finally shoved the rest of himself through the gap between the rocks, eyes taking a second to lock onto what he was looking for. 

Obito. 

Pinned under a boulder, four feet in front of him. He looked so tiny compared to the size of it, just a little boy in a world of pain. It was almost a blessing he was unconscious. Scrambling forward on all fours, Naruto’s warm hands reached out to Obito’s left, flinching back at the cold feeling of his fingers. Immediately concerned, Naruto grabbed the hand firmly, rubbing it to get some heat back. He made very sure to not smear any of his blood on Obito’s hand, or the wrist of his jacket. Obito’s wrist was so tiny, Naruto could touch his fingers together around it. But at least it still held a pulse.

Suddenly feeling unbelievably sad and relieved at the same time, Naruto couldn't stop the tears coming to his eyes. Leaning forward, he hunched over, touching his forehead to the side of Obito’s temple, relieved tears dripping onto the harsh stone below.

“Obito,” he whispered. “I found you.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a filler chapter, sorry. It's just to kinda bridge getting Obito out and him waking up. Please let me know if there are any positive changes I could make grammar or sentence structure wise.

Naruto gave himself exactly ten seconds to cry over finding Obito. He allowed himself just enough time to wrangle his emotions back under control, desperately fighting back the part of him that wanted to give in and just cry. Obito needed more than that right now, and it was Naruto’s job to make sure he helped him in however way he could. There was a reason Naruto was here, he just knew it. And he was beginning to think that he might have found it, but he just needed a second to act. Huffing out a breath, Naruto started to count.

One.

Two.

Three. On the third second, Naruto was able to stop his tears with some effort. He still didn’t make a move, trembling lightly on the cold ground.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Seven. On second seven, Naruto dropped one of his hands from Obito, reaching up to scrub at his cheeks, wiping away the tears. He didn’t pay any mind to the blood he left behind, too tired and sore to care. He left his hand hovering over his eyes, taking comfort in the pressure.

Eight.

Nine. Naruto took one more steadying breath, heaving a desperate mouthful of air into his lungs. With an iron-no. With a steel will, Naruto wrestled himself into submission.

“Ten.” And on the tenth second, Naruto sat himself up, dragging Obito’s hand with him. Bracing himself, he stared down at Obito, taking in a lot of information at once. 

Blood. 

Bubbling, red, and frothy at the corner of Obito’s mouth, trailing down the corner of his mouth like unnatural tears. It dripped from other parts of his face too, the scrapes and bruises decorating it being painted with small splashes of red. There was a sickening bruise on Obito’s left temple, spanning from the side of his eye all the way up into his hairline, a thin gash slicing across it. It seemed to go across his entire forehead, or at least the visible parts of it. The entire right half of Obito’s body was pinned, only one eye socket visible, and Naruto knew that’s where Kakashi’s own now rested. Obito’s visible chest heaved with every wet breath in, ribs clearly fighting against the pressure of something too heavy for them. Every few moments, Obito’s fingers twitched feebly in Naruto’s grasp, spasming with cold and pain. 

Stealing himself, Naruto reached down, peeling up Obito’s left eyelid. A thick, wet gash ran straight through Kakashi’s eye, cutting right across the middle. Naruto could make out the ruins of Kakashi’s pupil, the circle not changing even slightly as it was exposed to the light. Naruto couldn't tell if he could heal this without the interference of his yang chakra, but he was sure as hell going to try. He didn't even have the Yang mark on his hand anymore, and any attempts to use it with his prosthetic resulted in failure.

Naruto gently let go of Obito’s eyelid, letting it drift close. He carefully bent Obito’s arm, just enough to rest his hand against his hip comfortably, so it wouldn’t lay on the cold ground. Rocking back from his knees to the balls of his feet, Naruto hopped back towards the entrance to the cavern. He paid no mind to the sensation of stones embedded into his skin, because it was nothing compared to what Obito was going through.

Shoving himself just a bit into the opening, he cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled up to the clones.

“Guys, I found him! Everybody down, we’re in a small room to the left!”

Naruto quickly yanked himself back out of the crack and made his way back to Obito, stooping down beside him. Naruto knew that they had to get this boulder off of him if Obito would have any chance of keeping his right arm and leg, not to mention the organs that were losing oxygen as well. Nevermind the fact that Obito could bleed out, Naruto could definitely heal that; he wasn’t sure he could bring back two missing limbs. That’s why it was such a relief when he heard his clones trooping towards him, jostling each other in the small cave.

“Careful,” he snapped back at them. “We need everybody in here when we get him out, and I can’t afford to use any more chakra on you guys right now.”

“Sorry boss!” A chorus of apologies rose up behind him as one by one, the clones squeezed carefully into the alcove with them. The last clones passed in the makeshift stretcher, the ripped up towel piled on top of it. It got passed up through the clones like some sort of precious hot potato, the clones at the front retrieving it from the back.

Waving them forward, Naruto crawled up to the top of Obito’s head and positioned himself right at his ear, one leg ready to swing over to the other side whenever there was enough space. Naruto stooped over, bracketing Obito’s head as well as he could, protecting his face and chest from potential debris. Two of the clones slid the board up beside Obito, moving the towel strips to their laps.

“Guys,” he called out. “I’m going to need you to blow the place, but put enough power behind it to get rid of the heavier stuff. When he’s clear of the boulder I’m going to blast him with most of the chakra I’ve got left. It should heal the most serious stuff but not everything, he’s going to be in a ton of pain. Remember, we’ve got only a couple minutes to get him strapped down and get the hell out of here before I’m useless.”

All of his clones chimed back that they understood, positioning themselves around the cave as optimally as possible. Three of his clones stood by Obito’s boulder, while another two kneeled by Obito’s body. One by one, bright spots of swirling chakra appeared in the cavern, brightening the room.

“Alright people, go time!”

With a resounding roar, all of the clones slammed into their chosen rocks. The world crumbling as tons of stone shattered into dust. Naruto hunched further over Obito, hands coming up to cup the boy’s ears. Glancing up, Naruto watched the boulder pinning Obito go screaming through the air, out of the top of the enclosure of stone. He trusted his clones to keep them protected.

Wasting no time, Naruto swung his leg around, sitting in seiza at the top of Obito’s head. Reaching down, he placed his left hand over Obito’s heart, channeling healing chakra into the young ninja, just like Sakura had shown him. His left hand was where the yang seal had been; even though it was a fake arm, Naruto hoped that for once, the intent would help. Naruto had regenerated Kakashi’s eye, he hoped he could do the same to Obito’s body. Ironically, he was also trying to regenerate the same eye on Obito that he had for Kakashi in the War. Intensely focused, Naruto dredged up as much chakra as he could afford to spare, funneling it all into the child below him. He would give it all if it meant Obito recovering.

Gradually, Naruto watched Obito’s skin color go from gastly grey to a healthy pink, circulation returning once more. Obito’s crushed eye socket started to balloon back up, enough left of the eye to reassemble itself with enough help. The skin around it knitted back together, the circular pattern familiar on the tiny face. The young ninjas cheekbone slotted back into place, clicking together like a puzzle piece. Clicks and snaps echoed as the tiny body pieced itself back together. The cut across his forehead stitched back together, leaving behind a thin, pink scar.

Obito’s arm, grisly in appearance, started to slide itself back together. The ivory of his radial bone twisting back into the skin, his ulna smoothly slotting back alongside it. Flowing down his body, his mangled torso filled up as well, pink flooding back into the oxygen deprived skin. Naruto could see the warped skin settling back into place, stitching itself back onto protruding ribs. There would be a lot less scars on this version of Obito, but there would still be some.

Naruto kept as much chakra flowing as he could, watching spellbound as Obito’s body started to look less like a corpse, and more like an actual living person. His ears caught the sharp clack as Obito’s dislocated leg snapped back into place, the chakra leeching down his leg to the compound fracture of his shin. Wiping the blood away from Obito’s mouth, Naruto leaned over and listened as he stopped wheezing, air coming easier and clearer than before.

Within minutes, Obito’s body looked almost back to normal. Sure, some of his bones were going to be unstable and weak, but that would heal with time. The kid would have a ton of bruising for the next couple weeks but it was nothing that wouldn’t fade. Naruto could tell that his spine would be sore for a while, but he didn’t know if there would be any lingering damage. Naruto had hoped that by starting at the head, most of his chakra would piggyback down Obito’s neck and branch off his spine, making it the hubbub of all the healing. To be safe though, Naruto didn’t want to move him overly much until he heard from Obito himself, the kid knowing his body better than Naruto. 

Hence the board.

Naruto was satisfied with the progress made in such a short time, but there was a big thing that was worrying him. He had repaired the damaged organs inside Obito, but he couldn’t tell if there was any internal bleeding before he managed to stitch them shut with his chakra. He hoped there wasn’t, but he couldn’t tell. He didn’t remember that lesson with Sakua, and he cursed himself for it.

Pumping the last of the chakra he could spare into Obito, Naruto gauged what he had left. With the clones help getting Obito out of here, he had enough to make it 25 kilometers, 30 if he dispelled half the clones left. Nodding to himself, he looked up at his clones. The ones scattered across the room waited patiently, while the ones kneeled beside him met his gaze. Catching what he wanted, the clones lifted the rough wood board to the other side of Obito. They slid it up against his right side, although they stayed on his left.

“Ready boss?” The clone closest to him asked, leaning farther over the boy.

“Yeah,” the original Naruto nodded. “On my mark, we roll him.”

Moving his hand off Obito’s chest, Naruto brought both hands up to grasp his head.

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three!”

On three, the clones rolled Obito toward themselves as Naruto kept his head still as possible. Keeping one hand on Obito, they reached over and slid the board under his right side. They gently lowered him back onto it, shifting him over a bit until he was situated.

“Ok guys, good work. One of you get on his feet, we’ll need to sit him on our knees.” Naruto commanded, rising to a crouch.

The clone closest to Obito’s feet tossed the strips of towel onto the other’s lap, hopping down to crouch at the end of the board. On the original’s count, they hoisted him onto their knees. The remaining clone slipped the bits of towel under Obito, tying him to the makeshift stretcher.

Securing the last knot, the clone nodded to it’s partner and the original. Both of them stood.

The original Naruto spoke, “Great job, we’re almost done. I just need your guys help getting him up and out the top.”

The clones looked at eachother, then looked at the opening they created. Swarming together, they rushed the rock pile, hauling eachother up and sticking to whatever surface they could. In minutes, they had a makeshift human ladder, with one arm free to hike Obito up the slope. The original couldn’t help but stare for a minute; it was a ladder of boxer-clad morons and they were all grinning at him.

Rolling his eyes, Naruto and the two clones with him jogged up to the bottom of the ladder. Naruto switched places with the one that had tied the towel, stepping up to the human ladder. The bottom two clones grabbed his arms before he could react, ignoring his protests as they tossed him up one by one. “Heads up, oversized load coming through!” the clones leered cheerfully. Depositing the original at the top, the clones reached out for Obito next.

“Heave-ho people!” The two clones at the bottom called out.

Swiftly, they farried him up the side of the slope, Naruto waiting at the top to receive him. Each row snapped a salute at Naruto once their hands were free, dispelling themselves as they went. Eventually, it was just Naruto and the two clones that had helped with Obito.

Stepping back, one of the helper clones snapped a salute with a cheeky grin. “Alright boss, guess you can have your chakra back. Good luck!” The clone slapped his chest, vanishing with a poof of smoke and a small spike of chakra.

“Alright,” Naruto spoke up, scanning the area. “We’ve gotta be fast, I don’t know when Madara is going to show his ugly mug, and I don’t wanna be here to find out. Anywhere is better than this shithole.” Naruto knew he didn’t stand a chance against Zetsu or any other of Madara’s goonies right now. He had barely enough energy to keep himself awake and moving, much less fighting against Madara’s lackeys.

Naruto and the clone didn’t waste anymore time, setting off at a brisk pace through the foliage. Naruto didn’t really have an idea of where they were going; he figured he’d dig out a place to hide out for a couple of days. Somewhere he and Obito could rest, heal a bit, and regain their strength. Naruto didn’t need anything fancy, just serviceable.

The clone and him maneuvered through the woods by moonlight for another 22 kilometers, steering Obito’s unconscious body around the brush. Naruto could feel himself tiring out, and he knew the clone didn’t have much chakra left. After a few more minutes of walking, they came to a small break in the trees.

“Alright,” Naruto rasped out, eyes fighting to stay open. “Let’s stop for a minute.”

He and the clone set Obito down with a grunt, Naruto immediately dropping to his knees in exhaustion. Dropping forward onto his forearms, he panted heavily into the moist earth. He hadn’t been this weak in a long time. Hell, even after the war he hadn’t been this exhausted. It felt like his entire body was leaden, a dead-weight his mind had to drag behind. This must be what chakra exhaustion felt like. Naruto flinched as his clone tapped his shoulder, bringing him back. He sat back up on his haunches, looking at the clone to continue.

“Hey boss, I think I see a spot we can drag Obito into.” The clone gestured over his shoulder at a giant tree. “Underneath the roots look pretty hollow, want me to go scope it out?” Naruto gave his assent as he waved the clone off. He watched it go over to the trunk and tug a thick root to the side. It slipped down into the space underneath the tree, obviously looking around.

Naruto took that minute to flop on his stomach next to Obito, turning his head to look at the boy. Naruto reached his arm out and cupped the kid’s face, thumb stroking away a stray streak of blood. It didn’t do much, considering his own hands were coated in blood from his fingernails being ripped out. Staring at Obito’s scarred face, a strange feeling rose to life in Naruto’s chest. It was something he had never felt before, or at least not like this. It was burning, and wild, and deep: Naruto would rip Madara down brick by brick if he tried to even touch this child.

“I promise,” Naruto murmured, “I’ll keep you safe.” And Naruto would, he could swear to that much.

-0-0-0-

Another minute later and his clone popped out of the roots, waving his arm frantically. “Boss,” he called out. “Drag him over!”

Naruto gave Obito’s cheek one last clumsy pat before struggling to his feet, fighting to get his legs underneath him. Grabbing the head end of Obito’s board, Naruto dragged him the few yards to the tree, while trying his best not to jostle him. His clone put a hand on his back, helping him by guiding him down into the roots. Naruto had to struggle to keep the stretcher from tipping, the wood uneven in weight. The clone grabbed the end of the board as it slid through, helping hoist it farther into the roots.

Dragging it to roughly the middle, Naruto carefully set Obito down before straightening up, pleasantly surprised to see that he could stand. The moonlight shone through the gaps in the roots, illuminating the small area. There wasn’t much space, but there was enough for two people to lie down with some extra room for anything else they might need, assuming they were camping here for a while. Naruto could probably even throw together a fire under here. Judging by Obito’s clothes and the chill in the air, it was probably mid fall, so they’d definitely need one.

Naruto turned around and clapped his clone on the shoulder. “I know you’re technically me, but thank you for your help tonight.”

The clone grinned at him, wrapping a hand around his wrist. The other hand raised in a jaunty salute. “Good luck boss.” And with that, the clone disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving only Naruto and Obito behind.

-0-0-0-

Naruto crept out of the roots for a minute, having got Obito situated inside of them as best he could. Scanning the clearing, he found what he was looking for.

Rocks. And plenty of them.

Stalking forwards, Naruto gathered an armful of the various rocks strewn about the clearing, grimacing as they scraped against his own cuts and bruises. Hurtling through the trees and digging around a rock pile with no clothes on meant that Naruto was scratched all over, and wildly uncomfortable because of it. He couldn’t help but shiver as they touched his bare skin. “Jeez,” he thought. “Thats cold!” Hefting them up, Naruto turned and made his way back towards his temporary camp. He carefully shimmied his way in, being careful not to break any roots. He was not an oversized load, thank you very much.

Finally having shoved in, Naruto chose a corner of the chamber to do his work. Scooping a shallow hole in the dirt, he lined the edges with the rocks he had gathered, making sure to give the edges plenty of room. That done, he reached over to a decent sized stack of wood and twigs he had gathered just from the floor. Grabbing a handful, Naruto set them carefully in the middle of the circle. Now came the hard part.

Naruto summoned the tiniest bit of chakra to his finger, already feeling the drain on what feeble reserves he had left. He lowered his hand down into the middle of the pile. Painfully slowly, a small flame formed on the tip of his finger, catching the twigs around it alight. He grinned.

Never had Naruto been more grateful for Sasuke’s tricks.

Naruto couldn’t wait to get back to his time to tell his team Naruto had actually used what they had taught him. His good mood faded a little bit, a frown appearing on his face. Naruto had no idea how he was going to make it back home. But as much as he wanted to be home right now, he couldn’t regret coming back here.

He had saved Obito.

“I saved him,” Naruto thought to himself. “I saved him, I healed him, and now he’s sleeping beside that fire I made. Man, this almost feels like a dream. I don’t care that things are going really fast, I’m not going to try to slow it down. Before I go home, I’m going to give this kid the childhood he deserves. That I know for sure.”

Getting shakily to his feet, Naruto walked over to the underground trunk of the tree. Biting his finger, he started to smear blood in a complex pattern.

“This line here, this mark, hm, let's put it here. This anchor goes alongside this swirly thing- no the bendy thing goes there, not the swirly thing.” Face screwed up in concentration, Naruto drew a protection seal against the trunk. It would keep them hidden with an illusion not even an Uchiha could see through. With one load of chakra, it could last twenty four hours; then it would have to be recharged again.

Stepping back, Naruto observed his handy work. It looked awesome. Summoning the very last of his chakra to his fingers, Naruto smacked the center of the seal. It lit up bright blue, and Naruto could tell it had taken effect. It had drained the last of his energy though, and he could feel the blackness of unconsciousness closing in on him.

Stumbling over to Obito, he carefully collapsed beside him, letting the kid be the closest to the fire. Naruto couldn’t help but reach out and tuck the kids hand into his own. Shuffling contently, he gladly let the last dregs of consciousness slip away.

-0-0-0-

Roughly twenty kilometers away from where the ninja’s slept, a figure in black stood at the edge of a large crater. It’s golden eyes tracked across the ground, landing on the puddle of blood that was supposed to be their target.

“Interesting,” Zetsu drawled. “Very, very interesting.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next is Obito's POV

Naruto woke up warm.

Even without opening his eyes he could tell why, and it was nothing short of mortifying. Sometime during the night, Naruto assumed he had unconsciously cuddled up to Obito. One arm was jumbled up underneath Naruto’s head, and the other was cradling Obito against his chest, arm wrapped around the boy’s middle. Naruto had never cuddled with anybody before, not ever. He didn’t know what move to make, embarrassed and unsure of himself. Tucking his nose into Obito’s hair, Naruto huffed out a breath of frustration with himself, taking a moment to fight down the shame before he pulled away.

Unfortunately, Obito did something about it before Naruto could.

“Hey buddy,” a nervous voice whispered. “I dunno what your deal is, but if you don’t get off me in the next ten seconds I’m going to go for the groin.”

What a wonderful way to greet the day.

Naruto bolted up into a sitting position, yanking himself away from Obito like he had been burned. Cheeks flaming, Naruto slowly looked down. One wide black eye stared up at him, filled with fear and confusion. Face still covered with dried blood, the kid looked like something out of a horror movie. The only clean spots were on his cheeks, marking clear paths down to his temples. They disappeared into the dirty white towel strapping down his head.

Obito had been crying. Hell, Obito was still crying. He was just really quiet about it, making silent eye contact with Naruto as more tears filled his eyes. Naruto was silently relieved to see tears coming from both eyes, even though Kakashi’s was closed; it had to mean some parts of it were working. The tears made their way down Obito’s dusty cheeks, making clear lines on his face. And didn’t that just send a knife through his heart.

Naruto didn’t even think about how bad of an idea it was, too stunned and groggy to think clearly. He reached one hand out and gently stroked away a tear track, blood and dirt coming back on his thumb. Obito had gone even more still, eye widening even farther. The kid seemed to shrink back into the board. Naruto opened his mouth, ready to say something. He didn’t know what; probably something encouraging.

But Obito beat him to it.

“PERVERT, HELP! HE’S GONNA TOUCH MY BUTTTTT!”

What a wonderful way to wake up, indeed.

-0-0-0-

“Kid-”

“HE’S GOT ME STRAPPED DOWN, I CAN’T GET UP.”

“Kiddo I-”

“HE'S NOT WEARING PANTS!”

“Hon-”

“HE SMELLS LIKE BLOOD AND SOUP AND IT’S GROSS!”

Naruto huffed in slight offense at the last one, slapping a hand to his forehead. He’d been trying for the last five minutes to get the kid to calm down with just about no luck. Naruto was sitting on the floor a couple of feet away from the boy, giving him the distance he needed, not that it was doing much. He had a huge headache from the events of the past day and this morning, and this wasn’t helping.

Obito thrashed on the board like a wild thing, the whole wooden plank tilting back and forth on the ground. He had tried his best to escape the towel, but the clones knots had held out against the twelve year old. Naruto was worried about him hurting something with how hard he was struggling, but he didn’t want to pin him down. He was getting really frustrated, but tried to keep his cool.

“Look, I swear I’m not a perv-”

“LIAR! THAT’S WHAT A PERVERT WOULD SAY!”

Cool went out the metaphorical window.

“ENOUGH.” Naruto hollered, slapping his hands into the dirt. “I am not a pervert, I do not smell like soup, and I am NOT a fucking liar. Now stop moving before you hurt yourself, or I’ll knock you back out!”

Wrong thing to say.

Naruto regretted saying it the second it left his mouth, watching as Obito went stone still. The worst thing for a ninja, even more than being bound, was being unconscious in enemy territory. Even though Naruto was never going to be Obito’s enemy, the kid didn’t know that. As far as he knew, he was captured by some enemy ninja, trapped in some weird hovel made of sticks. Naruto was sure he didn’t look very trustworthy right now either, covered in blood, dirt, and who knew what else.

Sighing, Naruto hid his face in his hands, scrubbing furiously to get back under control. A strange sound made him look up, and he instantly felt even worse. Naruto could tell that despite his best efforts, Obito was crying. Face turned away from him, teeth clamped so hard on his lip it was bleeding, Obito was trying to muffle the sounds of what the boy perceived as weakness. The worst thing about it all was that the kid had wet himself sometime during the whole fiasco, possibly sometime during the night even. Naruto could tell by the way Obito’s legs kept moving that the boy knew, and Naruto watched his ears go redder by the second.

God, what had Naruto reduced this ninja to? He couldn’t regret tying him down until he knew about his back, but he shouldn’t have lost his temper like that. He’d promised to help Obito and yet here he was, fucking it up already.

“Kid,” he said softly. “Listen to me.”

He waited until he knew he had Obito’s attention, the boy turning his head towards him just a little. “Look, I know you’re confused, and that’s okay. You don’t know who I am, you don’t know where you are, and you don’t know what’s happening right now. Hell, I don’t even know what you remember. I just need you to know I’m not going to hurt you, okay? I have you tied like that because I had to carry you, and you were too hurt to do it any other way. You hit your head pretty bad, and I wanted to make sure I didn’t screw anything up when I was moving you. I promise you I’ll answer all your questions, but you have to cooperate with me a little.”

Naruto fell into silence, watching Obito’s shoulders shake as he took steadying breaths. Obito licked his lips, wetting them before speaking. “Are you still going to knock me out if I don’t?”

Naruto was slammed with a tidal wave of guilt, but still spoke the truth. “You’re pretty hurt kid, and I don’t know how bad yet. If you were making it worse I think I’d have to. I’m sorry for saying it the way I did, you know, but I meant it.”

Obito seemed to take that in, licking his lips again. “Okay,” he murmured. “I’ll listen to you.”

“Okay, okay, that’s great. Awesome.” Naruto huffed a sigh of relief. “Can you wiggle your toes?”

Still not looking at him, Obito nodded slightly, wiggling his whole foot. He was able to wiggle his fingers, move his ankles, and turn his wrists. His neck wasn’t hurting too bad, but he did have a massive headache. His thighs didn't tingle, and neither did any other part of him. When he hesitantly let Naruto slip a hand underneath his back, stiff as a board the whole time, Naruto felt no obvious injuries. Satisfied, Naruto nodded his head. Unless he kept Obito tied down the whole time, the kid was as good as he was going to get.

Shuffling up next to Obito, the boy still avoided eye contact. For some reason, Obito reflexively was keeping Kakashi’s eye closed, and didn’t even seem to notice it wasn’t his own. Naruto raised his hands, hesitating; while Naruto could untie knots incredibly well, his fingertips were still red and raw from digging. It’d be so much easier if he could just cut straight through the towel. Obito would be freed in seconds instead of minutes, able to move around and defend himself if for some horrible reason he needed to. 

“Hey,” Naruto drawled hesitantly. “Do you mind if I borrow a knife?”

For the first time since he’d woken up, Obito’s head snapped towards him, eye huge with panic for a second before the boy shielded it with hostility as best he could. “Why?” he barked

Wordlessly, Naruto held up his hands, fingers held outward. They looked pretty horrific, what with the nails remaining being cracked and bloodied. HIs skin was weirdly pink where the nails were gone, blood crusting around the edges, and hangnails dragging back all the way to the first knuckle of Naruto’s fingers. It stung so badly, Naruto felt like he was being stung by a hundred bees at once. As good as he was at handling pain, he was not used to it lingering, Kurama usually healing him before it could become a bother. Frankly, it sucked, but Naruto couldn’t regret how he got them. 

Obito didn’t have to look long before he paled, glancing between Naruto’s face and his hands. Gulping, Naruto could see him gathering his courage together, while at the same time trying to trust Naruto. Taking a wavering breath through his nose, Obito turned his gaze to the ceiling, nodding once.

Not wasting time, Naruto dove into one of Obito’s utility pouches, swiftly finding a kunai sharp enough for what he needed. Naruto felt more than saw Obito tense when he laid his hands on the blade, the young shinobi obviously knowing how his pouches were organized. Naruto swiftly made his way to Obito’s feet, starting on his ankles. 

He couldn’t blame him when he sent a knee towards his stomach once his legs were freed, Naruto gently catching it by the shin and pushing it back down, realizing in time it was the one that used to be broken. Naruto could see Obito’s knuckles going whiter around the edges of the board the closer to Obito’s head he got, which also meant being closer to Obito’s vital organs. It was when Naruto got to Obito’s chest that he snapped, the boy too panicked to stop himself.

“No, stop touching me! Get off me, please!”

Obito hand lashed out, latching tightly onto Naruto’s wrist, the other reaching for his kunai pouch. Naruto knew that while they had a temporary truce, there was only so far Naruto could push Obito as a stranger before instincts took over, especially while he only had limited movement. Dropping the knife, Naruto lunged over, pinning Obito’s hand down before he could get into the pouch. 

“Get off of me!”

Shouting out, Obito sent a knee up towards Naruto’s face this time, forcing him to lurch back towards Obito’s head. Cursing, Naruto shoved Obito’s hands down for a moment before abruptly letting go, clearly startling him. Before he could move again, Naruto scooped the knife back up, slicing through the tie pinning the top of Obito’s arms. He carried the knife up through, smoothly cutting apart the one around Obito’s forehead. 

Clearly not expecting it, Obito heaved upwards into a sitting position, limbs flailing as they were suddenly released. Turning to face Naruto, ready for a fight, Obito froze as he met a kunai just inches from his nose. Flinching back, Obito zoned in on the knife, pupil shrinking in fear and surprise. Studying the younger boy closely, Naruto decided to make a very risky play. 

Reaching out slowly, never taking his eyes off Obito’s face, Naruto grabbed one of Obito’s hands. Obito’s skin went even paler, the boy somehow tensing up even more, fingers flinching back from Naruto’s hold before relaxing in defeat. Face serious, Naruto brought Obito’s hand up to chest level, flipping it around so his palm faced the ceiling. Swallowing thickly, knowing this plan could go horribly wrong, Naruto made his move. Relaxing his hold on the knife, Naruto let his arm lower, smoothly flipping the kunai around by the handle. 

He slapped it down into Obito’s lax hand, the boy's mouth dropping open and shoulders going loose with shock. His eye widened even further when Naruto yanked the kunai up towards his own neck, Obito’s fingers still wrapped around it, covered by Naruto’s own. Leaning forward enough that the sharp point was dangerously close to piercing skin, Naruto let his hand fall away from Obito’s, weight solely supported by his core and the knife. 

Careful of the kunai, Naruto began to speak. “I know you don’t trust me,” he rasped, eyes serious. “I wouldn’t trust me either. But you need to realize I’m not your enemy, I’m your ally. I don’t have any weird motive for this, I promise you that. No creepy intentions, no pervy ones, not even strange ones. I’m just a guy helping out a kid in a tight spot. I promised not to hurt you, and I intend to keep that promise. I know you have questions , and I will try to answer them, but we can’t keep doing this. If you really feel you can’t trust me, fine. If you feel you can’t show me your back, that’s also fine. But if you're going to be going for my throat every time I have mine turned, you might as well slit it as you look me in the eye. I won’t judge you for it, but you have to make your decision right now.”

Knowing he was walking a fine line, Naruto kept his face as open as possible. While he may have sounded harsh, and not like his usual self, he meant every word. He had come too far for this kid to have to watch his back at every move, knowing that for an inexperienced shinobi like Obito, killing someone from behind was a lot easier than killing them from the front. Naruto was ninety percent sure the kid wouldn’t do it anyway, but Obito couldn’t know Naruto already knew him like that. So here he was, trying to prove to the kid that he was trustworthy in the quickest way possible.

Naruto felt the knife trembling against his neck, Obito’s hand shaking with indecisiveness. Naruto could see the war going on in his eyes, the preteen confused and frightened. Obito had already had his trust betrayed so many times, even at this young an age, and was understandably wary about reaching his hand out again, lest it get bitten. Naruto fought to keep his face straight as Obito’s shaking hand and sharp kunai nicked him slightly, a warm drop tracking it’s way down Naruto’s collar bone. Huffing in panic, Obito’s eye darted rapidly between the knife and Naruto’s neck, the pupil shrunken with fear. 

“Come on Obito,” Naruto inwardly chanted. “You’ve got this bud, just drop the knife. Drop it, Obito!.”

Almost like he had heard him, Obito yanked the knife from Naruto’s neck, sending it careening clear across the room from how hard he threw it away from himself. Naruto could tell it hurt from the gasp of pain Obito made, other hand reaching down to clench his forearm, the boy hunching in on himself. Gagging with pain and stress, Naruto was unsurprised when Obito threw up on his already dirtied lap, adding to the mess. Naruto considered it karma when some got on his own lap.

Keeping his wrists up, Naruto reached out, laying his hands on the boy's shoulders. Leaning farther forward so his head was almost above Obito’s, Naruto listened to the kid breathe in choked little gasps. Moving one hand to Obito’s back, Naruto thumped at it gently, helping the boy cough out the remainder.

“Shh,” Naruto crooned the whole time. “It’s okay, I’ve got you, I’m not going to hurt you. It’s okay kiddo, we’re okay, it’ll stop in a minute. God kid, I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Let it all out, I’m here.”

Obito spit out the last of the vomit, breaths coming in little hiccups. Naruto fully expected Obito to fling himself away once he realized Naruto was touching him, but Obito surprised him. Lunging into him, Obito flung his arms around Naruto’s neck, burying his head into Naruto’s chest. Vomit smeered wetly across Naruto’s stomach as Obito panted harshly against him. Obito’s shoulders heaved with each breath he took, obviously worn out. It seems like Obito had taken his gamble to heart, and considered Naruto safe enough.

Shocked, Naruto took a second to wrap his arms around Obito in return. He cupped his left hand against the back of Obito’s neck, and used his right arm to haul Obito farther into his lap. Naruto rested his cheek against the top of Obito’s head, and began to rock them back and forth. He wrapped his arms tightly around Obito, knowing from experience pressure helped as well.

The younger boys crying wasn’t loud, but it was almost painfully stifled. Instead of sobbing like another kid his age would be, Obito crying came in muffled choking noises and small whimpers. Clearly, Obito had been taught to try to hide his ‘weakness’, and was probably embarrassed about it. Naruto tightened his hold on the back of Obito’s neck, keeping it covered and protected. He leaned farther over, almost cocooning Obito in his arms. One of Obito’s hands detached from Naruto’s neck, slipping down and covering Obito’s mouth.

“I-I’m s-sorry,” he gulped out. “I-I’m s-so sor-r-ry.” Obito gagged again, drool slipping between his fingers.

“Hey, hey, hey, none of that,” Naruto commanded, shaking his head. “I know you’re scared, and confused, and have no idea who I am. But I promise you I’m here to help you. I will never hurt you, never. And as long as I’m here, I will make sure you’re fed, and warm, and happy. I know you don’t trust me, you don’t have any reason to, and that’s okay. I’m here anyways, and I’ll stay until you don’t need me anymore. I swear it, and I never go back on my word.”

They sat like that for a long time, Obito’s cries becoming fainter and fainter. The darkness inside the cavern started to fade away as the sun grew higher in the sky, casting faint shadows on the floor. Naruto started to be able to make out the full extent of where they were at, absently making a list of what he wanted to try to accomplish today. That’s why he almost missed the small noise from the boy in his lap.

“What?” Naruto asked, looking down at him.

“...your name.” Obito grumbled, moving his hand to rest against Naruto’s chest, idly tapping his fingers alongside where Obito’s brow met Naruto’s skin. Naruto knew a coping mechanism when he saw it, so he fought to not be grossed out by the spit.

“My name?”

Obito nodded slightly, never raising his face from Naruto’s chest. Naruto felt a brilliant smile start to spread across his face, lighting up the room even further before he fought it down to a simple grin.

“My name’s Naruto.” Even though he knew the answer, Naruto still had to ask the question. 

“What’s yours?”

Obito stayed silent for a long moment, face turned down. Naruto waited with baited breath as he seemed to deliberate something, tapping his fingers in a small rhythm. Slowly, Obito leaned back, and looked up into Naruto’s face. Naruto left it as open as possible as Obito looked almost through him, one eye darting back and forth across it. Finally, he opened his mouth. “Obito.”

“Well,” Naruto spoke slowly, as warmth bloomed in his chest. “It’s nice to meet you, Obito. I hope we can be friends.”

Obito’s nose scrunched up, a spark momentarily flaring in his eye. It was a far cry from the terrified look from a bit ago. “Dude, I threw up on you and cried in your lap. We’re more than friends, we’re Best Friends. Capitals and everything.” He sassed.

Naruto threw his head back and laughed, shaking Obito with the force of it. He counted it as a win as Obito chuckled with him, the sound a surprised cackle before the other boy smothered it. Letting out a few more chuckles, Naruto reached up and wiped a tear from his eye, absently reaching out and doing the same for Obito with the back of his hand, on a part that was clear of blood. Naruto didn’t catch the wary look the kid gave him, already busy tugging on the front of Obito's shirt. “Well,” he sighed. “Let’s do something about that, shall we?” Naruto turned serious for a second, giving Obito a look. “We’ll talk about the other stuff later.” Obito begrudgingly shook his head in agreement, too tired and grossed out to argue.

Naruto grabbed Obito carefully by the armpits, hauling himself up at the same time. Obito yelped indignantly as he was handled like a toddler, but decided not to voice much of an argument. Naruto steadied him and bent down so they were eye to eye. “Now you have a choice here. We came across a stream about three kilometers back, and we don’t have any buckets so we’ll have to wash there. It’s really chilly out, so I’d prefer to get there and back quickly. If you want to walk, that’s fine. But if I carry you it will be quicker, and I’ll be able to get started on a fire and find food sooner. It’s up to you, I won’t force you.”

While talking to Obito, Naruto skillfully peeled off his utility and weapon pouches, tossing them to the side. Obito’s signature goggles were already long gone, regretfully lost in the past day. Naruto removed his headband as well, the boy ducking his head down to help him. Obito was tense the second Naruto went for his pouches again, but settled for keeping a honed eye on Naruto’s hands as he moved.

Obito’s eye slid away, looking at a random spot on the floor. Naruto could tell he was struggling to make a decision, so he kept quiet for the time being. Flaming red, he weakly scuffed his sandal on the floor, Obito murmured, “Won’t it be gross though?”

“Huh?”

Obito’s voice somehow got quieter, and more bitter. His eye slid up to look at Naruto, irritated. “Don’t play stupid, I know better. I pissed myself, and threw up all over both of us. I’m really gross.”

Naruto shook his head, smiling sympathetically. “Bud, I’ve seen worse. You’re fine. And I’m not stupid, you’re right. It’s how I can tell you’re in a ton of pain right now.”

And he was, that much Naruto could see. But Obito hid it well, showing little to no outward signs of his discomfort. But Naruto was long practiced at sniffing out secrets, and could tell by the set of Obito’s mouth, eyebrows, and shoulders. It was amazing he was on his feet, much less preparing for a fight just a few minutes ago.

Obito rocked side to side on his feet, fiddling with his hands. A small frown slithered it’s way onto his face, followed by resignation. Grudgingly, he looked up. “Carry me?”

“Sure!” Naruto answered. Obliviously, he held out his arms. “Come on, we’ll just go now.”

Obito went still for a second, baffled, looking back and forth between his face and arms. A look of childlike delight appeared on his face, almost too quick for Naruto to catch before he smothered it. Slowly, almost fearfully, Obito shuffled into Naruto. His arms came up to wrap around Naruto’s neck, and he tucked his head into the crook of Naruto’s neck. Naruto shifted both his arms under Obito’s butt, clamping both hands on opposite wrists. Sliding up, Naruto jogged over to the wall of the little wood cavern, squeezing his way out.

Stumbling out into the small clearing, Naruto took a second to orient himself. Shivering for a second as the colder air brushed against him, he finally determined the direction of the stream. Hiking Obito up higher, he set off.

-0-0-0-

It took about 25 minutes for Naruto and Obito to reach the stream, and then another 5 minutes for Naruto to find a good eddie to bathe in. The whole while, Obito never let go of his neck, and he was in no mood to make him. For some reason Naruto couldn’t explain, it was nice to hold someone close like this. He so rarely got this much physical contact, so it was a nice change of pace, even with vomit involved. He had a troubling feeling it was the same way for Obito.

Eventually deciding on one, Naruto didn’t dither around about it. Bracing himself, Naruto waded them in up to his waist, clothes and all. Obito jerked in surprise at the cold, latching to Naruto and scrambling higher on Naruto’s hips.

“What are you doing?” Obito shrilled. “Our clothes!”

Naruto, feeling a little bad for not explaining, put a soothing hand on Obito’s back. “Sorry Obito, they need to be cleaned anyway. I figured it was best to get it over with. We’ll just rinse them and throw them on that rock over there.” Naruto gestured at a large boulder sticking out of the water. “You okay to start getting undressed?”

Irritated, Obito nodded his assent and unwound his arms from Naruto’s neck. Hissing, he allowed himself to be lowered into the cold water. While the water came up to Naruto’s waist, it was up to Obito’s chest. He couldn’t help but crowd up against Naruto, trying to leach as much body heat off of him as he could. Naruto ruffled his hair, and bent a little farther into the water. Shamelessly, he shucked off his boxers and offered Obito his free hand. He waded naked over to the boulder, throwing his underwear on top. Obito followed unsteadily behind him, gripping tightly to Naruto’s hand, cursing as he stepped on small, sharp rocks. 

Teeth chattering, Obito tried valiantly to strip off his torn blue long sleeve. His arms were too weak to get it off himself, and Naruto watched his cheeks get flushed in shame. Without saying a word, Obito stopped trying and held his arms out, just like a kid.

Stepping forward, Naruto tugged the one sleeve of the coat back, stepping forward into Obito. Throwing the coat behind him, Naruto reached for the ties to the arm guards Obito had on. The right metal plate was horrendously damaged, and Naruto couldn’t help but grimace at it. Next game the shirt that he was wearing, stained with blood and vomit. Naruto helped bunch it around his neck first before wiggling his fingers into the neck hole, pulling it up without getting vomit all over Obito’s face. Naruto looked at him. “Is it okay if I sit you on the rock so I can get your pants and shoes?”

Obito nodded, face horribly red and resigned to his fate. Naruto hiked him up beside his clothes, feeling bad as Obito crossed his cold arms over his chest. Naruto tugged off his sandals, setting them side by side on the rock. Naruto gently unwound the stained bandages around his ankles, piling them on top of the other clothes. Naruto leaned farther forward. “Put your arms around my neck and lift your hips.” Doing as he was told, Obito helped Naruto shimmy his pants off.

Down to his underwear, Naruto looked up at him. “On or off?” Obito looked away, silently lifting his hips again. Naruto peeled them off, choosing to not look down. Naruto didn’t care, he’d been a ninja for too long, but he knew Obito might. He was proven right by the distant look on Obito’s face, clearly pretending this wasn’t happening. Patting his knee comfortingly, Naruto tugged Obito back down into the water, keeping him close to his side as he shivered.

Taking a step back from Obito, Naruto quickly dunked himself under the water. Scrubbing at his hair and face, he burst back up half a minute later, significantly cleaner already. “God that’s cold!” he griped. He looked forward to Obito. “You ready? Need help?”

Obito shook his head. “N-naw,” he chattered out. “I’ve g-got it.” Also taking a breath, Obito plunged underwater, doing the same thing his companion had done. Wasting an extra second, Obito sucked in some water and swished it around in his mouth, clearing the gross taste of vomit and blood. About the pop back up, Obito thought for a second, suddenly emboldened and ready to push boundaries. He’d been having a bad few days, and knew just the thing to cheer himself up.

Sneaking a little closer to Naruto, Obito rocketed out of the water as powerfully as he could, mindful of his unknown and unremembered injuries. Obito’s arms sent a wave of water at Naruto. “Got you, pervert!”

Naruto shrieked like a girl, dancing away from him. Staring incredulously, he wiped a hand down the front of his face. Before Obito could get too worried, a mischievous grin stole across his mouth. “Yeah? Well lemme just get you back!”

Naruto lunged at him with broadcasted moves, Obito’s startled but playful yell making him laugh. Scooping him up, Naruto dunked him down back into the water with a careful hold, only briefly covering Obito’s head. Each time he came back out, Obito was breathless with badly suppressed laughter. After a minute, Naruto set him rightside up, shoving his shoulder once more for good measure. Obito rewarded him with a small, cheered grin, still somewhat elated. Less cold, Naruto and Obito quickly rinsed and wrung out their clothes, hurrying out to the riverbank. Naruto put his underwear back on, back facing Obito, and Obito elected to leave the bandages and arm guards behind.

Before Naruto could turn around to ask Obito how the kid preferred to be taken back, Naruto felt a small hand tentatively touch his shoulder. Stilling in surprise, Naruto slowly lowered himself into a crouch, purposely making his movements gentle. He’d had enough experience with Konohamaru to know what Obito was silently asking. Judging by the stunned silence, Obito was just as surprised at himself as Naruto was.

Waiting patiently, it didn’t take long for Obito to clamber onto Naruto’s back, the boy taking care to not bury his feet into Naruto’s ribs. Taking a mindful hold of Obito’s ankles, Naruto carefully straightened up, making sure he had him. Patting his ankle once, Naruto set out.

  
  



	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry there isn't much dialogue, the most of it is the same as the last chapter, just from Obito's point of view. Next chapter will still have his point of view though, and I won't rehash the one after that. After the next one it won't be repeated like it was this time, you know?

Obito reached the conclusion that this was the worst day of his life, and that was saying something.

He’d woken up only a bit ago, delirious with pain and hunger, face dripping with a cold sweat. In fact, his whole body was soaked with sweat, his mouth dry and thirsty because of it. Disgustingly, his pants were also cold, but they were wet for entirely different reasons. Obito, still out of it, felt a deep shame bubble up as he tried to sit, tired brain intent on finding a bathroom. Only then did he find out he was held down, by both rope and an arm. 

He had frozen in instant fright, muscles going taunt with confusion and terror. It took several minutes before he could calm his racing heart to a manageable level, a lump in his throat making it hard to breathe. Going through every breathing exercise he was ever taught, Obito quietly wrestled himself back under control, his heart thundering nervously. Getting a grip on it was hard, but Obito managed it pretty well. He was a ninja, after all, and he liked to think he was a pretty good one.

Taking a moment to focus, Obito quickly found out several things. The first, after careful testing, revealed that the knots were too tight for him to worm out of, and the arm too heavy to shove off. Secondly, the owner of the arm was incredibly muscled, and a whole lot bigger than Obito was. There was no way this guy wasn’t a shinobi as well, with muscles like that, and not to mention the quality of the knots. And the last thing, the most worrying thing, was that Obito didn’t know how he’d gotten here. Refusing to let himself freak out again, Obito stayed as still as possible, waiting for an opportunity to escape. He didn’t think he was capable of it at the moment, and didn’t want to waste energy. Apparently, Obito only had one working eye right now. 

He didn’t know what happened to his left one, but it wasn’t working too well at the moment. Every time he tried to see with it, he only saw darkness. He figured there was just dust in it or it needed a minute, so he decided to keep it closed for a while to see what happened. He’d rub it out later, when he could. For now, he had to deal with having just one available.

Strapped down in the dark, Obito could feel himself starting to panic. Unwillingly, tears started to trace their way down the sides of his face. Obito just really wanted to know how this had happened. Try as he might, he couldn’t remember anything after taking off after the Iwa nin that took Rin. As far as he knew, this guy was an Iwa nin that had hopped on the opportunity for a romp in the sheets with some kid, and Obito was Not Down for it. It seemed like this creep had taken the opportunity to act on his fetishes, and Obito was an unwilling participant. Not to cut open old wounds or anything, but cousin Tanaka and his perversions were enough for him, thank you. 

Obito laid still for hours, fits of rage and silent crying coming in stages. He was just one big ball of teenage emotion. He was scared of the situation, angry this had happened to him, and worried for his team. Not to mention the shame of soiling himself, and the cold discomfort of his pants. And he already had to pee again. Like, so bad he could almost taste it. Which was kind of gross, because he had unfortunately tasted pee before and it was no five star cuisine. Obito almost wanted to laugh at his dumb joke, but he had a feeling it would come out a little hysterical.

The entire time he was pinned, he couldn’t help but feel like there was a crushing weight on him, which was kind of weird. The only thing on him was the guy’s arm and whatever the ties were, there was no reason to feel so claustrophobic. Obito just chalked it up to him freaking out in a scary situation, which made sense. God, he’d trade his left foot to get out of here, and away from this guy. 

Obito couldn’t even see him, which made it way worse. The man’s face was buried in his hair, and Obito couldn’t move at all to try to look at him. He could be creepy and old and Obito wouldn’t even know until the guy woke up and tried to go to party town, because he was convinced that’s what was going to happen. Every atom in his body was certain that was in store for him, no doubt about it. It felt like the air was getting thinner, Obito’s breaths coming in shaky pants. 

“Okay,” Obito thought to himself. “I can do this, I’ll let him touch me, I’ll pretend to like it, and I’ll ask him to untie me. Then I go for the throat. Four steps; Let’im touch me, pretend to like it, get him to untie me, and go for the throat. Touch, like, unt- oh my god I think he’s waking up.”

Obito went even stiller than before, feeling his heart start to beat harder. He clamped his mouth shut, holding his breath. The guy shifted a little next to him, huffing out of the blue into his hair. Obito barely contained a moan of dismay as the guy tugged him closer, apparently deciding to settle back down. “Great, just great. More of this foreplay bullshit,” he thought angrily

Obito didn’t even think about saying it, he just wanted this guy off him. “Hey buddy,” he blurted out in a whisper. “I dunno what your deal is, but if you don’t get off me in the next ten seconds I’m going for the groin.”

Obito was a moron. What a complete bluff; he couldn’t even itch his own groin, much less go for this guys. Though he couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of satisfaction as the guy leaped away from him, as short lived as it may be. Sliding his eye over, he wanted a good look at the man that had him trapped. And felt everything freeze.

For a split second, Obito was sure this guy was Minato Sensei. The guy wasn’t looking at him yet, but the hair alone was enough to almost convince him. Obito’s thin hold on his emotions snapped for a second, partially convinced that Sensei had come for him, and this was all a misunderstanding. A tear or two made its way down his face as he took a breath, and that’s when the guy turned to look at him. And this guy wasn’t Minato.

He had these weird whisker marks on his cheeks, he was tanner than sensei, his eyes were bluer, and his face was rounder. And really red, might Obito add. The guy looked at him for a second, and out of nowhere he reached for Obito’s face. Obito felt himself stiffen, eye wide as he swiped a tear away from the side of his cheek.

Yeah, Obito couldn’t let this guy touch him. He changed his mind, he still looked too much like Minato for comfort. If this man touched him, he would never be able to look Minato in the face again. It didn’t matter that Obito only cared for Minato as a teacher, he still cared enough to not want to be fondled by his look alike. Shrinking away, Obito made his decision. He’d rather make the guy kill him than touch him. He spat it out.

“PERVERT, HELP! HE’S GUNNA TOUCH MY BUTTTTT!”

Yeah, that’ll do it.

-0-0-0-

For a while, Obito resolutely ignored everything the guy said to make him be quiet. He made sure to be extra thrashy too, just in case the guy got any ideas while Obito was busy working the magic of an annoying twelve year old. Trust him, because according to his relatives? He had this skill down pat. Obito did his level best to piss this guy off enough to not be interested anymore, and for now it seemed to be working. It had never worked this well with Cousin Tanaka, so Obito was kind of counting his blessings here. 

The guy huffed angrily at the soup comment, quieting for a second. And hey, it wasn’t like it wasn’t true. He really did smell like soup, and Obito was feeling kind of spiteful because it was making him hungry, which was disgusting. Armpit soup, ugh.

“Look, I swear I’m not a perv-”. 

“Yeah fucking right buddy, and I’m the Daiyamo of Wave Country,” Obito thought to himself.

“LIAR! THAT’S WHAT A PERVERT WOULD SAY!” That one he said out loud. The guy needed to be called on his shit after all. Completely expecting the guy to subside again after the latest accusation, Obito was startled out of his wits when the guy practically roared at him. He barely kept himself from peeing his pants.

“ENOUGH.” And then the guy slapped the dirt, and for a moment all Obito could think about cousin Tanaka slamming his door open in the middle of the night. He stopped thrashing for a minute, just long enough to hear what the guy spit out next. “I am not a pervert, I do not smell like soup, and I am NOT a fucking liar. Now stop moving before you hurt yourself, or I’ll knock you back out!”

Yep, there goes the pee.

Once Obito registered what had been said, he couldn’t help but react instinctively, his body going frozen in terror. Turning his head away, Obito clamped down viciously on his bottom lip, so hard blood spurted out. He spiraled out for a second, drowning in an onslaught of nasty memories. It was so sudden, Obito didn’t even have time to brace himself. This guy had just said the only thing that would have made Obito shut up, and he wasn’t nice about it either

He’d woken during the night so many times to Cousin Tanaka slipping into and out of his room during the middle of the night, and an awful pain between his legs. Always, always, he’d be filthy down there, but he would hardly ever wake up while it was happening. Tanaka was a ninja too, and Obito knew there were many techniques to keep someone unconscious. Obito wanted precisely none of them used on himself, not ever again.

Obito was ashamed to say he immediately started crying after the guy was done yelling at him. The tears rose up before he could stop them, making him choke a bit. He tried his best to not make eye contact with the Minato copy, trying to stifle the sounds of his crying. There was no need to provoke him, Obito knew he was annoying when he cried. He thought he failed when he heard the guy sigh, definitely annoyed at this point. He couldn’t help the destroyed gasp that escaped him, terrified to be knocked out.

Suddenly, the guy spoke. “Kid, listen to me.” Funny enough, his voice sounded oddly nice. Not willing to fight him about it, Obito let the man have his attention. What followed was some bullshit speech about how he wasn’t going to hurt Obito or anything, so long as Obito cooperated, he assumed. Reluctantly, Obito conceded it made sense he was tied down the way he was, especially since the pain he was in matched up with the story.

Obito shakily licked his lips, heart racing. “Are you still going to knock me out if I don’t?”

The man confirmed he would, if Obito kept hurting himself. Reluctantly, Obito appreciated the honesty. That must mean he had some use for Obito, to want him to be able to move. Licking his lips again, Obito quietly agreed.

“Okay, okay, that’s great. Awesome. Can you wiggle your toes?”

-0-0-0-

Obito could wiggle his toes, his feet, and his wrists. Nothing was numb, nothing felt tingly, and the only pain he really had was a splitting headache, which he reluctantly told the man. Obito had no idea why this guy wanted to know this stuff, but if it made him untie Obito, then he was all for talking about wiggling his toes. He even let the guy touch his back, though it made every hair on Obito’s body stand up at the thought. Obito refused to look straight on at the guy, because every time he saw his face, he couldn’t help but think of his teacher. Not to mention his one eye still needed rubbed out.

And that's when the guy asked to borrow a knife. Head snapping over, Obito couldn’t conceal the panic fast enough, but hopefully the anger on his face hid it pretty well. For the first time during this whole mess, he felt a bit of steel enter his voice. 

“Why?”

The steel melted as the guy held up his hands, fingernails facing out. Covered in blood and dirt, there were several missing, the pink, squishy flesh underneath raw and irritated. Long streaks of missing skin peeled all the way back to the first knuckle of this guy's hand, small trails of dried blood leaking down. Despite himself, Obito felt a pang of sympathy, his own pain flaring harshly at the sight, involuntarily glancing up at the man’s face. It made sense why he wanted to use a knife instead of his fingers.

Going pale at both the pain and the thought of a knife coming towards him, Obito looked to the ceiling and nodded. Either way the guy was probably going to use a knife, but at least this way Obito felt like he had a choice in the matter. Still, he couldn't help the way his muscles tightened when he felt the guy rummaging through his pouches, going tenser still as he felt him find the right one. Obito startled when the guy went for his ankles, but kept it to himself.

Obito felt absolute panic as the guy started making his way up Obito’s body, the knife coming closer and closer to something important. When it came close to his groin while freeing his thighs, Obito didn’t even think about the knee he sent at the guy’s stomach, his own stomach lurching as it was caught in a firm grip. The next knot, at his chest, right next to his heart is what really set him off.

Obito didn’t think, shouting for the guy to get off him, grabbing desperately at his wrist. His other hand tried to dive into his pouch, stopped by the guy latching onto it. Obito sent a knee at his head this time, aiming for his scrubby face, and felt a thread of vicious satisfaction when he had to dodge. The man’s grip got heavier for just a second, forcing Obito down harder onto the wood, before he abruptly let go. Obito, surprised, felt the last of the ties being sliced away as he lurched up, suddenly allowed to sit. He was flooded with instant adrenaline, but it didn’t last long, probably because of the Kunai shoved in his face. Of course, that’s when the guy decides he wants to hold hands, and Obito has no choice but to let him.

Imagine his surprise when Obito is suddenly holding the knife. He’s even more shocked when it’s brought up to the man’s neck for him. Confused and uncertain, Obito makes eye contact with the man. Then he gets another speech, but this one sounds like a lot less bullshit, under the circumstances. It doesn’t feel like bullshit either, and Obito has seen a lot of that in his short life. 

Obito doesn’t know what to do, hands shaking with adrenaline. Everything he’s ever been taught is screaming at him to slit this guys throat and run, escape, report back home. But Obito doesn’t have a clue where home is, because Obito doesn’t even know where he is. All Obito knows is that he’s in pain, and this man has been nothing but kind, even if he possibly is an enemy. Hell, his face is kind too, eye’s hard but open. And here Obito is, debating on whether or not to slit his throat. Obito feels physically sick as he watches a drop of blood trail down to the man’s collarbone, and suddenly Obito can’t get the knife away from himself fast enough.

Obito hurled it across the floor, the metal sparking across the stone. A flare of harsh pain burned to life in Obito’s arm, making him gag, and sending him over the edge. Obito wanted to whine as warm vomit flooded his lap and his shirt, also getting on the guy’s lap. The acrid taste made Obito’s sore throat hurt, and his nose a little runny. Obito noticed that the guy was talking to him as Obito vomited everything in his stomach. Tuning in for a second, desperate for a distraction, Obito almost choked on his next round of puking. The guy started slapping his back at that, giving him a firm couple pats. His other hand was on Obito’s shoulder, soothing.

The guy was still being kind. He was actually apologizing for scaring him and everything. Even if it was a crock of bull, he was helping Obito once again, and Obito couldn’t not appreciate it. He was just so tired, and so sore, and to give the guy the benefit of the doubt, he hadn’t once touched him with bad intent. Maybe Obito shouldn’t have been so harsh, this guy seemed really nice. Listening to him croon to Obito as he was being sick, Obito felt relief. The day was still young, but Obito had changed his mind on one thing.

This guy was a good guy after all. It had been just a couple of minutes, but anyone that could be that nice to a puking kid deserved some sort of recognition. God knows none of his clan had ever been this nice to him, they would have hosed him down outside, but this guy seemed different. Obito just hoped that he wasn’t wrong about this. But the thing is, he didn’t feel wrong about this.

There was probably a reasonable excuse for the guy being in his underwear, it was a warzone after all. Maybe his clothes had been destroyed, maybe he had been captured by the Iwa nin too, and took Obito while escaping. That didn’t explain where he was, but it was a start. But that didn’t mean that Obito wasn’t still really upset that he didn’t know where he was. And his damn eye wasn’t working still, maybe there was something else wrong with it besides dust.

Obito spit out the last of the vomit, feeling horrible and just kind of bad. Obito could feel the guy start to withdraw from him when done, and a sudden moment of clinginess made Obito wrap his arms around the man’s neck. God, he felt like a baby for cuddling up to a person he didn’t even know, but he really needed it. “I have a kunai on me if I need it,” Obito thought to comfort himself. 

Obito startled a bit as he felt a hand curl around the back of his neck, and an arm around his waist. Imagine his surprise as the man tugged Obito onto his lap like he was a baby, circling his arms around him. With no warning, the guy started to rock them both, and Obito couldn’t bring himself to protest. It felt oddly nice to just heave against the man's chest.

God, Obito had so many questions. Mainly, ‘Where are your pants?’, but some others as well. What had happened to Obito, where was his team, who was this guy, and why the hell did he look so much like Minato? Obito knew this situation was so fucked up, and so far Obito felt thrown for a loop at every moment. He felt exhausted from all the emotions he was feeling in such a short period, and disgusted with himself for being covered in his own vomit. He really didn’t wanna cuddle with vomit and pee all over him, but he just needed some positive contact for once. Not even his own grandmother ever touched him, instead choosing to remain carefully distant. Obito felt every bit his age as he sat here in this guy's lap, cuddling up to him.

Feeling more vomit rise, Obito clamped a hand over his mouth, trying to stifle it. He warbled out apologies, but the man didn’t care at all. All he did was comfort Obito, telling him it was perfectly alright that he was covered in some strange kid's warm vomit.

Obito didn’t really know how to process that, but he knew the man was right. Obito was scared, and confused, and really did have no idea who this guy was. Obito wasn’t too sold on this guy being there with him for the long run, but to give him the benefit of the doubt he'd let Obito spread his nasty all over him. And the whole thing about trusting him? That's the part Obito was the most conflicted on.

Obito didn’t know this guy at all, yet already he trusted him more than a vast majority of his family. It was almost concerning how fast he had latched onto this random stranger that had shown him a bit of niceness. Minato had drawn a line in the sand that clearly defined him as Obito’s teacher, nothing more. He offered the standard amount of care a teacher would, but that was it. Obito had no idea where he stood with whoever this dude was, and that's why he allowed himself a little bit of leeway. It was almost scaring Obito, how quickly this guy was becoming someone who could have his back.

The only people he trusted at this point were his team, and that was a close call. With that stint Kakashi pulled with leaving Rin behind, this random stranger was overpassing him quickly. That really scared Obito; the thought that this random stranger was neck and neck with the boy that was supposed to have his back. Obito was supposed to be able to put his back to the enemy, and have no doubts that Kakashi would guard it. But Kakashi had just proved he’d rather knife Obito himself than fail the mission. This stranger was doing more for him than Kakashi ever had.

Obito’s rational ninja brain screamed at him that this was a trick, all a ploy to get Obito to trust him and then stab him in the back as some sort of sick game. It would be in Obito’s best interest if he went for the man first. Obito’s twelve year old brain was convinced this guy was trustworthy, that this guy wouldn’t lay a hand on him. He wanted to be able to take a break in this guy's arms, and let himself be held in a warzone. Obito didn’t know what to believe, and all he could do about it was keep crying.

Obito sat in that guy's lap for hours, warring with himself. To decide if this guy was really okay to trust, or to decide to attempt to eliminate the potential threat. It would be the smart thing to eliminate him now, when he was unguarded. Then again, Obito hadn’t felt even a hint of danger since he had calmed down. He’d already tried to kill this man once, but couldn’t bring himself to do it then either.

In the end, the deciding factor was the man’s heartbeat. Weird thing to base a decision off, Obito knows, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t valid. The whole time the guy held Obito, his heartbeat never wavered. Obito knew a nervous heartbeat when he heard one, and this one was completely steady. Even the strongest ninja would be wary of having another ninja in their lap, even if they were just twelve. Obito was fully equipped and able to put a knife through him, and the guy knew it. The fact that this guy was so confident spoke volumes to Obito. He believed Obito wasn’t a threat to himself, and in a blind leap of fate, Obito decided to believe it too.

Taking one last steadying breath, Obito shifted his head back a little. He mumbled, “What’s your name?” 

“What?”

Obito wanted to roll his eyes. Well, at the moment, eye. “...your name.” He brought his fingers up next to his face and started tapping a little rhythm, not registering the spit on them.

“My name?”

Obito nodded, his face still turned down. Sue him, he wanted to know who this guy was.

“My name’s Naruto.” The guy answered. “What’s yours?”

This was a hard choice. Did Obito give him his actual name, or come up with something just in case. Leaning back, Obito studied the face above him for a long moment. It really was similar to Minato’s, funny enough. It was also really open, and Obito tried his best to get a good read on him. The friendly grin at the corner of his mouth is what sold it. Naruto, huh. “Mine’s Obito.’

Naruto smiled fully at him this time, saying something about being friends. Obito couldn’t resist snarking at him a little bit, finally having a good moment. “Dude, I threw up on you and cried in your lap. We’re more than friends, we’re Best Friends. Capitals and everything.” Granted, Obito didn’t particularly like sitting in his own vomit, but beggars can't be choosers.

Obito couldn’t help but startle a little bit as Naruto started to laugh, jostling about. Uncontrollably, Obito cackled a little bit too. He knew he didn’t have a nice laugh, but he couldn’t resist the chance for a little levity. It was nice.

Settling down a bit, Obito shifted a little as Naruto sat back up. Chuckling to himself, Naruto wiped a tear from his face. Obito was about to do the same when Naruto beat him to it, not even seeming to think about it. Obito couldn’t help but feel a bit stunned that Naruto was so effortlessly nice., even if Obito did have to repress the flinch as Naruto went for his face.

Naruto tugged on the front of his shirt playfully, seemingly not truly bothered by the puke, saying something about cleaning up. Obito barely contained a squeak of shock as Naruto hauled him up like a baby, instead voicing a much more manly yelp. Naruto kneeled in front of him, meeting him eye to eye. Obito felt a little more reassured at being treated like an equal. Naruto began explaining Obito’s choices to him, simultaneously stripping him of his gear. Obito placidly allowed this. As the saying goes: in for a penny, in for a pound. He ducked his head a bit so Naruto could get his headband off, and enjoyed the stroke of fingers through his hair. That doesn’t mean he didn’t watch Naruto’s hands the whole time, though.

While looking down, Obito observed the mess on himself and felt a strong feeling of disgust rise up. Finally clear headed, Obito couldn’t help but hate the mess of blood and vomit on his clothes. He didn’t know where all the rips and blood came from, the only blood supposed to be there was from his lip. His eye slid away to a random patch on the floor. He really wanted to walk, but his body was extremely sore for whatever reason. He didn’t think he could make it one kilometer, let alone three. But then again, he didn’t want to dirty Naruto more than he already had.

Biting the bullet, Obito scuffed his shoes across the floor. “Won’t it be gross though?” 

Obito felt slight offence as Naruto played dumb, and couldn’t stop himself from snapping at him. Obito was the one that felt dumb when Naruto pointed out how much pain he was in, which really was true. He didn’t know why, but his whole body was in complete agony. All he wanted to do was lay down, but that wasn’t an option. And to be honest with himself, neither was walking.

He played with his hands. “Carry me?”

Imagine his surprise when Naruto cheerily voiced his agreement, and then held out his arms. His arms! Obito expected a piggy back ride, not this. Looking back and forth from Naruto’s limbs to his face, Obito couldn’t decide if Naruto was messing with him or not. The oblivious dunce kept his arms out for him, waiting. He was serious.

Obito had never, not once, been held like an actual kid. Hefted up like a ragdoll, sure. But never actually held on someone’s hip. Obito inched forward, halfway convinced Naruto would change his mind on him. Before the chance could be taken away from him, Obito wound his arms up around Naruto’s neck, clenching tight. Burying his head in Naruto’s shoulder, Obito let his working eye slide closed. For once, he understood why kids did this. Obito felt Naruto’s arms slide under him, his legs naturally falling to Naruto’s hips as he was picked up. 

Feeling them move, Obito tucked his head down tighter as the light started getting brighter. It was warmer closer to Naruto, anyway. Heart jumping a little as Naruto seemed to stumble, Obito grabbed on imperceptibly tighter. Obito settled down a bit, Naruto finally started to move. Might as well enjoy this while it lasted.

-0-0-0-

Obito got to be carried for a whole half an hour. He felt kind of embarrassed that he had counted every minute, but he couldn’t help it. It was a ninja thing. Comfortable and warm, Obito felt on top of the world in Naruto’s arms. Of course the moron had to ruin it by wading into freezing river water. Obito, unaware, was justifiably annoyed when cold water soaked his ass in seconds. He took a second to scuttle a bit higher on Naruto, trying to escape the cold water. Mindlessly, he shrieked something about his clothes, figuring it was a safer topic than screaming at Naruto himself.

Obito felt only mildly mollified as Naruto patted his back a bit, gesturing his hand at a large boulder nearby. “Sorry Obito, they need cleaned anyway. I figured it was best to get it over with. We’ll just rinse them and throw them on that rock over there. You okay to start getting undressed?”

Obito unwillingly let himself be slid into the water, wanting to curse as it came up to his chest. Attempting to hoard some body heat, he shamelessly pressed close to Naruto. The man was like a walking space heater. Obito hardly moved away even as Naruto got fully naked, trying to press as close as possible. Holding on to Naruto’s hand, Obito let himself be toted along behind the man as he moved over to the rock. He refused to feel embarrassed at holding Naruto’s hand, knowing the current would knock him right over.

Fingers shaking, Obito tried to pull off his own clothes. The force of his shivers made it hard to get a good grasp on the soaked material, resulting in failure. Obito, cheeks flaming, waved his soggy arms at Naruto. Obito braced himself as Naruto stepped closer, silently helping him out of his coat. Next came his arm guards, and one of them looked horrifically damaged. For a moment, Obito was glad he didn’t remember what happened, if it resulted in that. Naruto was gentle as he unstrapped them, also pausing a moment to look at Obito’s arm. Obito obediently lifted his arms as Naruto rucked up his shirt, warm fingers skimming over his torso. Next came the hard part.

Naruto asked permission to put him on the boulder, Obito nodding gratefully. It was colder up on the boulder than it was in the river, and Obito hated it. Naruto gently worked his sandals off his feet, setting them down. Next he took off the bloody bandages. Leaning closer to Obito, he looked up at him. “Put your arms around my neck and lift your hips please.”

Obito complied, helping him out. He couldn't help but feel mortified as the outline of his privates became visible through his wet underwear, but Naruto carefully stayed quiet. He simply looked at Obito and asked, “On or off?”. Obito really wanted to say on, but he knew they needed a good rinse in the river. Looking away, Obito lifted his hips. As Naruto peeled his underwear away and exposed his privates, Obito couldn’t help but feel a stab of relief. It didn’t at all feel like it did when Cousin Tanaka did it, when he was occasionally permitted to be awake. This just felt like a friend helping another friend.

Naruto patted his knee and slid him back into the water. Stepping away for a second, he dunked himself under the current. Obito watched as he scrubbed himself good before popping back up, bitching about the cold of the water. Refusing Naruto’s offer of help with stuttering breath, Obito dunked under too. About to come back up, he had a thought.

“Would he mind too much if I tried to have a little fun?”

Coming to the conclusion that Obito didn’t think he would, he crab walked a little closer to Naruto. Putting his arms together, Obito carefully burst out of the water, covering Naruto in an involuntary shower. “Got you, pervert!”

It was the highlight of Obito’s day when Naruto let out a girly shriek, sounding exactly like a teenage girl. Obito’s cheeks puffed with the effort to keep his laughter at bay. Naruto swiped sopping hair farther up his forehead, looking at Obito through watery bangs. He wiped away some of the water on his face, and Obito felt nervous for a second as he looked at him. “Oh shit,” he thought. “He’s mad, dammit Obito why do you have to ruin everything you touc-.” Naruto grinned just then, Obito’s internal monologue screeching to a halt. 

“Yeah? Well lemme just get you back!”

Obito yelped like a puppy as Naruto made for him, swinging him into the air. Naruto cackled evilly the whole time, getting a safe grip on Obito. The older boy repeatedly started to dunk him into the water, making Obito laugh. It wasn’t even weird they weren’t dressed, it was just fun to act like idiots together. Obito trusted Naruto fully in that moment, knowing they were just having a bit of fun.

A couple of minutes later, Naruto decided that was enough fun for today. Having set Obito upright, Obito hurried with him over to the rock, eager to be rid of the cold water now that they weren’t playing anymore. Haphazardly swishing his clothes around for a minute, Obito gathered them into a pile and waded with Naruto out of the water. He left the bandages and the armguards behind, something in him not wanting to be near them anymore. The older boy helped him put his clothes on first before turning away to put on his own underwear.

Obito stared at Naruto’s back for a second, overcome with a sudden urge. Before he could talk himself out of it, Obito slowly reached out, kind of tapping at Naruto’s shoulder. If anything, Obito expected Naruto to turn around, but instead the older boy crouched down, patiently waiting. Obito was surprised, not expecting this kind of outcome. Carefully, Obito let himself have this, climbing up Naruto’s broad back. The pat on his ankle was more soothing than expected.

-0-0-0-

An hour later, Obito sat across from a crackling fire, his clothes still pretty damp. Naruto sat across from him, poking a stick into the bottom of it. Finally satisfied, Naruto tossed a handful of wood into it, making it flare just a bit brighter. Sitting back, Naruto locked eyes with Obito.

“So,” Naruto stated. “Where would you like to start?”

Obito took a deep breath. “What happened to me?”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

Obito waited quietly, staring across the fire at Naruto. The other ninja wouldn’t meet his eye, instead staring into the bed of the flames. Obito scooched around the fire, hesitantly reaching his hand out for Naruto’s. Meeting no kind of resistance, Obito went for it, tentatively picking up his hand. He twined their fingers together, squeezing tightly, and getting one back in return. He knew it was kind of weird, but Naruto looked like he needed it too. Naruto inhaled deeply, holding it in for a second, before starting to speak.

“I was messing with something I shouldn’t have,” Naruto began. “An experimental seal my father created just for our family. I was trying to recreate it for practical use for everybody, not just us. It was a cargo seal, meant for transportation of certain goods. My partner warned me against it, but I didn’t listen to him.”

Obito opened his mouth, cutting in at a natural pause in the story. “What does your seal have to do with me though?” Obito was confused and a little bit annoyed. He wanted to know how he had ended up here, not Naruto’s life story.

Naruto’s lips twitched in amusement, tugging his hand out of Obito’s. The hand came up and ruffled Obito’s hair. “Be patient, I’m getting there.” He jokingly shoved Obito’s head down, ignoring Obito’s grumbling. With less hesitation, Obito reached back out for Naruto’s hand, bringing it to his lap. Idly, he bent and unbent Naruto’s fingers, feeling slightly chastised. Naruto’s hand and part of his arm was really pale compared to the rest of his body, but Obito didn’t want to ask yet. People couldn’t control the marks they were born with, he knew that. It would just be rude to point it out. Obito caught Naruto smiling knowingly at him from the corner of his eye, and felt a small flush appear.

“Anyways, to make a long story short, I activated it by accident. I took a shower, came out with only a pair of boxers and a towel, and fell right on the damn thing. Next thing I know, I’m in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, not a coin to my name. I was freaking out pretty badly, to be honest. I threw some chakra out to test the waters. And that’s when I felt you.”

“What do you mean, you felt me?” Obito asked. On a side note, he was really glad to find out where the man’s pants were.

“I have some sensor abilities,” Naruto explained. “I was trying to figure out where I was, and you were the closest signature. There were three others moving farther away from you, but that was it. So I chose yours.”

Obito didn’t say anything, looking down at their hands. Why would his team have left him behind? Was it his eye? Obito hadn’t messed with it at all since he’d been freed, but maybe there was something seriously wrong with it. Obito was too afraid to mess with it, even when he had been underwater at the river. Maybe he had just been a liability and they chose to leave him there.

Naruto kept talking. “It took me a while to get there, most of my chakra was zapped in the trip. I only had your signature to go by, and the closer I got, the weaker it felt. It took me forever to stumble through those woods, I was so exhausted. Despite that, I kept going.” Naruto smiled weakly, fingers folding over Obito’s own.

Naruto’s other hand reached over and grabbed the middle of Obito’s shirt. He tugged on it, and met Obito’s eye. “This is where it gets harder to talk about, Obito. You ready?” Obito nodded nervously, gulping down a mouthful of spit. Something in his belly clenched, a pit growing in his stomach. He had a bad feeling about this.

Naruto noticed his unease, because Naruto apparently always noticed. He tightened his hand in Obito’s shirt and dragged him closer. Obito let him do it, wondering what this was about.. Naruto crossed his legs and tugged Obito into the middle, sliding both his arms under Obito’s. Face going red, Obito privately admitted to himself that this wasn’t that bad. Honestly, it was kind of really nice, not that he’d ever say it out loud. He was twelve, practically a grown up, not some little kid; he didn’t ever want to admit this whole cuddling thing was definitely underrated. Obito’s back rested snugly against Naruto’s chest, and Obito felt Naruto’s pointy chin rest on the top of his head. Obito used Naruto’s arms to rest his own, cupping their hands together. 

Obito felt a lot better now. “I’m ready,” he whispered. And he was.

Naruto didn’t ask anymore questions, trusting him. “When I got there, I found a huge pile of rocks. I didn’t understand what was going on at first, it was kind of a shock. Then I realized what it meant. You were under there, Obito.”

Obitos grip tightened on Naruto's hands. The pit in his stomach grew worse.

Naruto kept going. “I summoned a couple of clones, and made a plan. I sent out a few to make a stretcher, and the rest of us started digging. I couldn’t risk blowing you out and it collapsing altogether, you know? It took a while until we dug down far enough, but we were eventually able to come across a gap in the boulders. I gave them my towel to keep it clean, and wiggled down in.”

Obito almost wanted to tell Naruto to stop. He didn’t like where this was going at all. Something in the back of his head was yelling at him to stop him while he could. Obito ignored it though, equally desperate to know.

“I only had the moonlight to see with, and that made it hard to navigate. I was looking everywhere, and it was only by chance that I spotted a small split in the rocks. I wiggled through it, and I was almost too big to fit. When I did get through, I wasn’t expecting to find what I did.”

Naruto took a shaky breath, mirroring Obito. His arms clenched around Obito’s middle a little tighter. Bits and pieces started to click together in Obito’s head.

“It was a kid. You were pinned down under a boulder, and barely breathing. There was blood all over your face. Your eye was completely slit, it looked like it had been cut cleanly. You were barely alive. I got my clones to come down, and they helped me blow you out.”

Obito was barely breathing, eye blown wide in horror. Naruto didn’t seem aware of it, on a roll now. Obito could feel himself start to tremble. Obito was upset.

He didn’t know how to tell Naruto to stop.

“You were in really bad shape, Obito. You were fighting to live so hard, kiddo, and you were tiring out. My clan has a healing ability, and I have it. I got most of the rest of my chakra, and I shoved it into your body. It was a miracle that it worked as well as it did, it even healed your one eye. I got you moved on to the board, and we carried you out. A couple hours later, me and a clone came across this spot, and dragged you into it. And that's where it ends.”

Obito made a sound like he was dying, hands coming up to cover his mouth. His one remaining eye was blown wide, staring at nothing. He hunched into himself. “Kakashi,” he moaned. “Rin. I remember. We saved her, I saved him, and they took my eye, and gave me his. I said he could have it, it was a present. I remember now. I remember everything.”

Obito's voice got more and more hysterical, steadily rising. Naruto was saying something to him, but Obito couldn’t hear it. His hand came up to scrabble at his face, at his left eye. “They left me!” Obito shrieked. “I told them to, and they did, but I didn’t want them to go! I didn’t want to be alone when I died! They should have known that, they were my team! They took my eye and they left me there and it hurts! Naruto, it hurts! I didn’t want to be alone, and they didn’t CARE!”

Obito felt Naruto’s hand slide up and cover his eyes altogether, blocking off his vision and the attempts to scratch at his damaged socket. Naruto pulled him tighter against his chest, leaving his arms free. Obito kicked his legs out, hands clenching down on Naruto’s thighs. He didn’t care that he was essentially throwing a temper tantrum, he just needed to let some of the anger out. 

“Obito,” Naruto spoke urgently. “Obito, they care. I promise, they care. It’s a warzone, they didn’t have any choice. They were deep in enemy territory, they had to go. They didn’t want to leave you, they didn’t have any options buddy. They thought you would die quickly, they didn’t know you would suffer that long. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

“I was stuck between a rock and a hard place!” Obito wailed. “I didn’t have any choice either! They were supposed to be my team! It’s not fair!” Obito tried to throw Naruto off, but the man wouldn’t budge. He slid his hand off Obito’s face and put it on his stomach instead. Obito didn’t bother opening his eyes again, not wanting to face the reality that he only had one working one left.

Naruto pressed his cheek to the top of his head. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I know it isn’t fair, I know you had no choice. I am so sorry they left you alone, Obito. I am so sorry. But I’m here now, I’ve got you now. I won’t leave you, I swear. And you may think they don’t care, but I care. I will always care. I’m here.”

“You’ll leave me too, stop lying! You don’t even know me! Let me go!” Obito threw his head back, hearing Naruto’s startled intake of breath as he barely missed his nose. Obito slammed his heels down into the dirt, straining to get up. His back was bowed from how hard he was fighting it, the only points of contact being his heels in the dirt and his shoulders pressed into Naruto’s chest. 

Obito had no idea what he would do when he did get free, but he was so hurt and angry that he didn’t care. He was tired of having to pretend to be okay, when nothing was actually okay. This was his first ever real tantrum, and Obito was quickly going all in. He was uncontrollable, barely having a hold on his emotions. It felt horrible and he wanted to stop, but he couldn’t.

Obito howled as Naruto kicked his feet out from under him, his back hitting the dirt with a soft ‘thump’. Naruto gripped a hand in the bottom of his jacket and yanked him up farther, until he was sitting back where he started. “Fuck you!” he spit, aggravated. Naruto had a tight hold on him, unrelenting in his efforts to stop Obito from hurting himself further.

He couldn’t give in without a fight though, his instincts wouldn’t let him. Obito lurched side to side, wiggling a bit farther out when he went to the right. He got an arm over Naruto’s bicep, and a little more mobility. Obito hurled a desperate elbow at Naruto’s ribs, screaming mindlessly. It connected with savage intensity; Obito felt something give underneath it. He stilled as a sharp crack rang out through the cavern, Naruto hissing lowly. “Oh god,” he thought. “What have I done.”

Obito heaved at the feeling of the rib giving way, the fight going out of him. “I’m sorry,” he wheezed. “Naruto, I’m sorry.” Obito fell forward, breathing harshly. Naruto followed him, until they were both bent almost in half. Naruto’s arms slid up until they were pinning his arms down, grounding him in the present. Protecting both of them from Obito’s anger.

“It's alright, Obito, I’m alright. We’re both alright. I’ll heal, I’ve had worse.” Naruto pressed his forehead to the back of Obito’s neck, panting just as harshly. Obito’s eye remained closed, tears sliding down his cheeks.

After a moment, Obito spoke. “I want my eye back,” he whispered shamefully. “I thought I was dying, that's why I gave it to him. This one feels wrong.”

“I know.” Naruto hushed.

Obito’s voice got quieter. “I’m mad at them.”

“That's okay, you're allowed to be.” Naruto reassured him.

Obito’s voice was barely more than a murmur this time. “I don’t think I trust them anymore.”

Obito felt Naruto shake his head. “Kiddo, list-.”

“I asked them to end it.” One last admission, breathed out in a hush. Obito opened his eye, staring down at the blurry dirt.

Naruto stilled behind him. “What.” It wasn’t a question.

Obito took a wet breath. “I knew they had to go,” he admitted. “I was scared, and it really hurt, and I didn’t want to go by myself. After I gave Kakashi my eye, I asked them to end it. And they said no.”

“You asked them to kill you.” This wasn’t a question either. Obito was relieved that he couldn’t see Naruto’s face from here, afraid of what expression he would be making. 

He soldiered on. “I don’t know what it’s like where you’re from, but in Kohona we have a Relievement Act. It’s, it’s pretty much mercy killing. If a ninja can’t continue the mission, and are too injured to make it back home without endangering the lives of the team as a whole, they’re allowed a Relievement. It kinda goes hand in hand with bringing back the headband, in certain situations. The thing is, it's not really used by anyone but the major clans anymore.”

He kept rambling, desperate to get it out there. “I followed protocol, I did everything by the book. I stated my name, my ID, and my injuries. I told them to take my headband back with them, and to tell my grandmother thank you. I wanted a clean cut, right across my neck. And they couldn't do it, Naruto. They said they couldn’t hurt me like that, but it wasn’t hurting me, it would have been saving me. I thought out of anybody, Kakashi would understand that.”

Obito forced out each word as they came, wanting, needing Naruto to understand what they did. “I just didn’t want to be by myself when I went. I told them to go because I knew it wasn’t safe, but I never wanted to. They couldn’t stay, and I can’t hold that against them, but they didn’t have my back like they should have. It was my right to die how I wanted, it's why we have the damn act in the first place. I wanted to go in my teammates' arms, and instead I went out by myself, in the dark, cold and alone. They took my choice away. They took it away, and I know that it was hurting them to do it, but I don’t think I can forgive them for it.”

Naruto pressed his head harder into the back of Obito’s neck, quiet. “I really don’t know what the right thing to say. It was horrible they left you in that condition, they should have honored your wishes as the shinobi they are. I learned a long time ago not everybody can be saved, but they shouldn’t have just left you hurting. But want to know one thing I can’t complain about? I got to meet you. I saved you when they couldn't, and I can’t help but be grateful they left you how you were, instead of killing you. That doesn’t excuse their actions, but I just want you to know that I’m really glad you’re here with me. I’m sorry you feel all this pain, but I promise I will help you through it.”

Obito let out a choked, warbling laugh. “Even though I puked on you?”

“Yeah, even though you puked on me.” 

“Even though you don’t even know me?”

“I know plenty, Obito. I know you’re just a kid, no matter what the headband says. I know you have a good heart, and that’s more than enough.”

Obito paused for a second, debating that in his head. “Naruto?”

“Hmm?” Naruto hummed.

“I’m thirsty.”

“Me too.”

“Naruto?”

“Yeah?”

“Can we find something to eat now?”

“Yeah buddy, we can.”

Even though they said that, Naruto and him stayed like they were for a while longer. Obito’s stomach hurt from struggling so hard against Naruto, and his legs throbbed from exertion. He was almost tempted to fall asleep where they were, he was so exhausted. As it was, he was very close to dozing when Naruto decided to stand up. 

Obito didn’t even protest as Naruto wormed an arm under his legs. He was jostled up into a bridal carry, Naruto rising smoothly to his feet. Obito let his head thud into Naruto’s shoulder, one hand coming up and cupping his eye socket. He just wanted this day to be over. He wanted to eat something, have a drink, and go to sleep. It didn’t even have to be in that order. So many things had happened at once in such a short time, Obito was having a hard time processing everything. Tomorrow would be a new day.

Naruto moved them both towards the wall of their little camp, sunlight stabbing at Obito’s eyes. His head hurt something fierce, an unsteady beat thrumming through it. Naruto stopped right at the edge, a thoughtful look on his face.

“Hey Obito.”

“Yeah?”

“Want to stay here? You can take a nap and I’ll borrow some kunai, if that’s alright?”

Obito hesitated for a second, then he nodded. “Sure.”

Naruto grinned down at him, swinging back around. Obito grunted as his stomach swooped a bit with it. If he hadn’t vomited earlier he wasn’t sure he’d be able to eat anything, his abdomen was so sore. As it was, he was so starving he was starting to cramp.

Obito made a soft sound of discomfort as Naruto lowered him onto his side by the fire. The older man paused, hand lingering on Obito’s other side. Obito slid his right arm up under his head, legs naturally curling up against his stomach. He pushed his face closer to the warmth of the fire, exhaustion flooding in like a tidal wave. Obito was barely aware enough to notice Naruto start patting his side, the action oddly soothing. Naruto started to hum as well, and Obito was sorely tempted to poke fun at him. 

Deciding against it, Obito let himself fall into the rhythm of it. It was an unfamiliar tune, but Naruto sounded nice when humming it. Nobody had ever done this for him before, not even when he was sick. The last thing he remembers is Naruto’s thumb stroking his forehead, before Obito slips away. This time, he knows he’ll wake up.

-0-0-0-

“Obito, I’m baaack.”

Obito grumbled, tucking his head farther into the crook of his arm. He didn’t want to wake up yet, he was so comfortable. He futility hoped Naruto would choose to leave him where he was, already knowing the other boy found joy in teasing people. He was proven right as a set of fingers wiggled into his left armpit, merciless in their intent. Obito squealed in surprise, suddenly wide awake. He couldn’t help flipping over, sending a devastating right hook straight to Naruto’s groin.

It was with great satisfaction that Obito watched the man drop his bundle of squirrels, howling in pain as he fell back. Obito paid him little mind, instead hyperfocusing on the squirrels. There were four of them, and they were the most delicious thing he had ever seen. Had they not been raw he would have already been ripping into one. As it stands, he was damn close.

A hand came into his field of view, landing in the middle of his face. It shoved him back as Naruto used it for leverage to stand, grabbing the squirrels on the way up.

“That,” Naruto says, pointing at him. “Was a dirty move.”

Obito mugged up at him. “Don’t dish out what you can’t take, loser.”

Naruto mugged back, before rolling his eyes. He reached his hand out to Obito, and Obito took it. Of course, as he started to stand, Naruto let go. Obito scowled through his bangs as Naruto started to laugh, but he couldn’t feel truly angry. This was friendly teasing, not malicious. Obito hoisted himself up this time, stretching. His back popped pleasantly, and Obito groaned in relief. Turning to Naruto, Obito asks, “How long was I out?”

Naruto shrugged, settling down with the squirrels and a kunai. “About two hours. I don’t have much chakra back yet so it took me longer than I thought it would. Squirrels are damn fast, it took forever to knock them down with a kunai.”

Obito hummed in acknowledgement, dropping down beside him to help. With two hands working, it took them the work of minutes to skin the squirrels. Soon enough, they were all roasting on sticks over the fire. The smell was absolutely amazing.

“Oh yeah, here,” Naruto said, tossing him something. “I grabbed it when I borrowed a kunai.”

It was Obito’s canteen, and from the feel of it, it was full. Obito greedily unscrewed the top, swigging back a good amount of it in one go. God, he’d forgotten how thirsty he was. It took effort to take small sips after the first one, but Obito knew he would throw it back up if he drank any faster.

Naruto rotated a squirrel, not paying much attention to Obito. “That’s going to be really difficult to keep filled on the way back to Konoha. We’ll have to be careful with it.” He mentioned idly.

Obito stilled, canteen in front of his mouth. He lowered it slightly. “On the way back… to Konoha?”

Naruto hummed, still messing with the squirrels. “Yeah, I was thinking we’d leave here in about two days. Maybe stop by a trading town and get me some clothes. After that, we’ll make a beeline back to Firecounrty. I don’t want to stay in enemy territory longer than we have to be. Oh by the way, that reminds me-”

“Naruto.” Obito tried to cut in, but Naruto bulldozed right over him.

“- if you need new clothes or anything, I can gather enough food to trade for some. They won’t be the best quality, but they’ll be something new. Oh yeah, we should definitely pick up some toothpaste or something, we both reek. Also, we should think up a cover story for why we’re traveling together. Ooh, I’ve got it! You could be-”

“Naruto!” Obito said it more urgently this time, and Naruto picked up on the change of tone. Concerned, Naruto turned towards him.

“What’s the matter, are you feeling sick?” He reached a hand out for Obito’s forehead, pressing his hand to it. As nice as it felt, Obito had something to say. Something really important.

“Naruto, I don’t want to go back to Konoha. I want to stay with you.” 

Naruto started, staring at him with huge blue eyes. As his hand fell away from Obito’s forehead, he had one fleeting thought. 

“Please, for the love of god, say yes.”


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto hesitated for a second, gathering his thoughts. He forced himself to sound calm, when on the inside he was freaking out a bit. “You mean in Konoha, right? I mean, I was planning on sticking around for a while until the war blows over, but if you want me to live close by you I could?” There was no way the kid could mean in any other way, right?

Obito shook his head, bangs sweeping across his forehead. “No, I mean out here. You travel around a lot, right? It kind of seems like you do. I want to come with you.”

Yep, the kid didn’t mean living near each other in Konoha. “Absolutely not.” It slipped out of Naruto’s mouth before he could stop it. It wasn’t even a conscious thought, his mouth just ran on it’s own.

Immediately, Obito’s face twisted into a scowl. His one eye narrowed down into a slit, the other one still closed. The wrinkled scars around his eye made an appearance, hardly noticeable to both of them unless Obito scrunched up his face like that. “Why not?! I’m an adult, I can choose where I go!”

Naruto could barely wrap his head around Obito’s thought process, he was so stunned. As far as Obito knew, they’d known each other barely a day. “Because you’re only a kid, Obito! Sure, you’re legally an adult, but physically you’re a child! You’re what, twelve years old? And you want to go gallivanting across the country with a stranger? What in the world makes you think that's a good idea?” Naruto threw his arms out, narrowly avoiding knocking the squirrels down into the fire.

Obito crossed his arms, chin tilting defiantly. “I’ll be thirteen in February, I’m almost a teenager! And it wouldn’t be forever, just a couple of years! We’d go back eventually! I trust you, you wouldn’t hurt me even if you wanted to.”

Naruto sputtered, hands coming up to tug at his hair. “Oh my god, we’ve known each other less than a day, Obito! You don’t even know my last name, and I don’t know yours. How do you know I’m not some creepy pervert? I could just be really good at acting or something.”

Obito looked at him dubiously. “Well, are you a creepy pervert or what?”

Naruto waved him away, turning to fiddle with one of the sticks for a second. He was too hungry to let the squirrels burn in wake of their argument. “No, what are you, an idiot?”

Obito sputtered defensively, scowl reappearing. “But you just said-”

Naruto cut him off. “Look, I know you’ve been having a really shitty day kiddo, but you have a family waiting for you at home. I truly promise to be there for you, but at some point we’ll have to go our separate ways. It won’t be for a long time yet, but in the meantime you deserve to be in your village and with your family. I’ve been looking to settle for a while, so it’s not like I won't be there too. Not to mention your team, kid! They think you’re dead! Could you really do that to them?”

Naruto knew that Obito’s family wasn’t the best, but the kid wasn’t aware that he knew that. Naruto had no intention of making him move back into that compound if he didn’t want to, but for now he had to play the part of a clueless stranger. If Obito opened up to him, he’d change what he was saying, but the end goal was to get Obito back to Konoha. Naruto wouldn’t force him to stay in the village, but it was something familiar to both of them. 

Naruto had full plans to stick to Obito like glue until the kid was grown, but that would seem creepy to say. Naruto wanted to go back to his time at some point, so it wouldn’t be forever, but it would be a while. He had stayed away for almost three years before, what difference would five make? By that time Kakashi would be ready to step down and Naruto could claim his spot as Hokage, easy peasy. But for now though, he had a twelve year old to worry about.

Obtio shook his head again, his crossed arms getting tighter. “The only family I really have is my grandma, and she’s just raising me out of obligation. I’m not stupid, I know nobody in the clan likes me. I don’t know why though, I help everybody out because I help grandma with her things. And they probably won’t even let you in Konoha, stupid. It’s wartime, they wouldn’t even risk sending out a Yamanaka to scan you. Everybody except Suna is an enemy right now, and even that’s debatable. And my team is strong, they have each other. They’ll be fine. And a little karma never hurt anybody.”

“Damnit, he’s right.” Naruto thought. “I was only around for one war, and that one only lasted a few days. And all the countries were working together back then, so the only enemies were the clones. What sane village in these times would let a random stranger in at all, especially one with no papers? Hell, especially one that tries to get close to a prized Uchiha! I’m an idiot, I didn’t even think of that. God, Shikamaru would beat me.”

Oblivious to his inner monologue, Obito leaned in closer, looking up earnestly. Naruto couldn’t help softening a bit at the sight. “Please, just let me come with you? I promise I’ll go back after the war is over, really. To be honest, if I go back, they’ll make me go back out to the battlefront. And I don’t think I trust my team to have my back.” Obito lowered his voice, looking away. “I really don’t want to fight anymore. I know it’s cowardly, I know I’m shameful for it, but I want to be selfish for once. Just for a little bit.” Obito looked back up at him, face determined. “I won’t be a burden, and I’ll train really hard! I’ll do all the chores you want me too, and I’ll even brush my teeth everyday and everything. I promise, Naruto!.”

Naruto closed his eyes, cursing himself. The kid knew exactly where to hit to make it hurt. Who was Naruto to make him go fight a battle he didn’t want to? Naruto didn’t see it as cowardice, he just saw a scared kid trying to make his life a better one. He already knew his decision, and hated himself for it. 

  
  


He huffed a bit. “You know brushing your teeth everyday isn’t a chore, right?” One eye slid open, looking down into Obito’s falling face. Naruto could see the disappointment in the set of his shoulders. Naruto kept going. “Besides, I’m not a monster. We’ll share the chores.”

Naruto regretted backing down from this so easily, but the kid made a few valid points. Besides, it wouldn’t be forever. They’d just keep their head down until Obito felt ready to go back. Naruto was pretty sure the kid would miss his team in no time, but for now it was going to be him and Obito. Besides, watching the realization that he won wash over Obito was kind of worth it. It was funny to watch him get what Naruto was implying, and Naruto couldn’t help the grin that stole over his face.

Obito threw his arms up. “Yes!” He whooped. “Team Nabito for the win!”

Naruto wheezed a bit, incredulous. “What did you just call us?”

Obito grinned at him, shrugging. “Nabito. You know, like Naruto and Obito? It’s catchy.”

Naurto reached over and shoved his forehead for the second time that day, bowling Obito over. “You say that phrase again and the only thing catchy will be your pants when I light them on fire.”

Obito giggled, propping himself back up. Naruto took one last good look at the squirrels, inspecting them for any red. Satisfied, he pulled the four sticks out of the fire. He held two of them out for Obito.

Obito wiggled his fingers. “Gimme gimme.” He took the sticks, holding them sideways so the juices wouldn’t burn his hands. Naruto watched as he tucked in, devouring one within a minute. Naruto slowly worked on one of his, watching Obito patiently. Before long, Obito was sucking at the marrow of the last squirrel, looking forlorn. Naruto smiled, reaching over and poking his stick into Obito’s hand.

“Here, I’m not that hungry. You have it.”

Obito grinned at him, tucking back in. Naruto hiked to his feet and stretched, making his way to the middle of the fort. His chakra was starting to fill back up, at about fifteen percent capacity. Not bad, considering it had been less than a day. It was crazy to think that it had only been a few hours since this morning, and all of a sudden he had a little follower. Shrugging it off, he slapped a hand into the seal on the tree trunk, filling it up. Now he could go to bed early and not worry about filling it in the middle of the night. It flared brightly, chakra burning it farther into the tree.

“Whoa,” Obito exclaimed behind him. “What was that?” Naruto looked back at the preteen, still sitting by the fire. Half the squirrel rested in his hand, forgotten, as he watched Naruto. 

“It’s a protection seal created by my clan, it cloaks us from sight and chakra sensors too. It lasts for twenty-four hours so I have to recharge it every so often.”

Naruto felt comfortable offering up the workings of the seal, even if the seal itself was now uncommon. His clan had created it, and he had found it in an archived Uzumaki book of seals, deep down in the ruins of Uzushiogakure. Naruto had taken that trip a year after the war, finally ready to learn more about his people. It had taken a lot out of him when he’d come upon the ruins of the village. His poor mother, having to go through losing her entire home. He’d lost it when Nagato blew apart the village when he was hunting him, and nobody had even been permanently killed. He couldn’t imagine what Kushina must have gone through, and to be frank, he didn’t care to.

“Your clan?” Obito asked him, bringing him back to the present. “What’s your full name?”

“It’s Uzumaki. My mother was an Uzumaki, she fled when the village was being destroyed. I was three, so I don’t remember much about it. My father was from a small clan outside of the village, but he learned the art. He died when I was young, and so did my mother. I’ve been mostly on my own ever since.”

Naruto felt bad about tweaking the truth a bit, but he couldn’t tell Obito who he actually was. Maybe in time he would, but for now he wanted it kept secret. As of right now, if Naruto calculated correctly, he was about three years younger than his mother, which was strange to think. She’d fled the village at six, so he would have been three, had he been born in this timeline.

Obito perked up, pointing at him with the stick. “Like my sensei’s girlfriend! She’s an Uzumaki too! Hey, why didn’t you come to the village sooner, after your parents died? We’re allies, we would have protected you.”

Naruto shrugged, not in the mood to make up another false story. “I don’t really know why, I just didn’t. So, what’s your story? What's your family like?” A low blow on Naruto’s part, but he was still playing clueless.

It was Obito’s turn to shrug, tossing the bones of the squirrels into the fire. He’d finished it at some point during their talk. “Like I said, my grandmother raised me. My parents both died when I was a baby, and she was the only one to take me in. My father was from outside of the village, so I think that’s why the rest never really liked me. None of them were mean, not really, but they weren’t really welcoming. I helped my grandma out a lot, and there were one or two people that were nicer than others, but that's about it. Only a handful of them were actively nasty to me.”

Naruto nodded in understanding, even though he still didn’t like the general sense of neglect he could sense. “What’s your last name?”

Obito looked him in the eye, startled. Slowly, he started to grin. “Oh yeah, I forgot you didn’t know. I’m an Uchiha!” Obito’s thumb came up, proudly poking into his chest. Despite all the hardships, Obito still seemed really proud of his clan’s reputation.

With a tiny flicker of chakra, Obito’s right eye pinwheeled into red. Two tomoes glowed within it, and it felt weird for Naruto not to see his Mangekyou there instead. Obito grinned a little brighter. “Cool, huh? I got it when-” Obito cut off for a second, frowning. The wind taken out of his sails, he looked down. The red faded out, leaving one normal black one. “I got it when we went to rescue Rin, and I saved Kakashi.” He finished quietly.

Naruto smiled gently, turning away from the trunk. He took a couple of steps and crouched down in front of Obito. He reached out carefully, broadcasting his movements. When Obito didn’t protest, instead staring quizzically at him, Naruto sat a careful hand down on Obito’s head. He gently ruffled it. “I know you’re mad at them, but I’m proud that’s how you earned your Sharingan. You were helping somebody, protecting a teammate. That’s way better than getting it on some unimportant mission or battle.”

Obito flushed bright red, looking away. One hand came up and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s no big deal, anybody would have done it.”

“I know.” Naruto shrugged. “But you did it, and I’m praising you for it. You did a good job.”

Obito’s blush got deeper, and Naruto decided that was enough praise for now. He hopped back up, rocking back. He offered Obito a hand up as well, humming when he took it. Naruto casually stretched, looking down at Obito as he scratched his head.

“So, I know I said we’d leave in a couple of days, but that’s just because I was planning on heading back to Konoha. To be honest, if we’re going to find somewhere around here, we should probably leave soon. What day is it, anyway? I don’t want it to get too cold before we head out of here.”

Obito nodded, counting on his fingers. It was kind of adorable. “It should be November third, if I counted right? And we had to study the map of the area before we left Konoha. If we’re still in Kusa, if we go far north we should pass through Waterfall country, and head to Asui Bay. It’s by Iron country, and there's not as much fighting up there because of the samurai. They don’t have many ninjas either.”

Naruto was very relieved to learn that he was thrown to the past at the same date of the future. When he’d left, it’d been November second. That gave him slight hope that the same amount of time he spent here would pass in the future, and he wouldn’t go back to everyone being eighty and half dead. He ran a thumb over his lip, thinking.

“There would be some good fishing or trading jobs by the coast.” He mused. “The war shouldn’t have hit too hard up that way, Waterfall tends to remain pretty neutral. The Hidden Stone has been using Grass country as their supply point, not Waterfall. If we stay closer to Iron then Earth Country, we should be able to avoid most conflict. And it’d be easier to stay hidden, there’s people coming in and out of trading posts all the time.”

Naruto thought for another second before nodding decisively. “Alright kid, that’s where we’re going to head. It gets pretty cold up there in winter though, and we don’t have much time left. Any villages nearby you know of?”

Obito shook his head. “Nothing besides Hidden Grass, and I don’t think we want to go there. The closest would actually be Waterfall, it’s about a hard day's run from the middle of Grass. Assuming we’re still around where we got… ambushed, our best bet would be to leave tomorrow morning and push hard to Waterfall, before many Iwa enforcement's flood the country. My team’s mission was to take out their main supply line, and if they succeeded, they’re going to fight tooth and nail to restore it.”

“Okay then!” Naruto clapped his hands. “I want to gather some more supplies and refill the water canteen. Want to come and help me gather more to eat? Any animals we catch, we can smoke overnight. We’ll set out tomorrow to Waterfall, and hopefully we'll be there by morning of the 5th.”

“Are you going to buy some clothes when we get there? I have some money, not much, but you can have it. Half of it is probably covered in blood though.”

Naruto grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, that would be great. I’ll probably have to trade some labor for supplies, but that’s fine. I’d rather that then go far north in just my boxers.”

Naruto still felt stupid for that, being too lazy to put on clothes. Maybe had he put on some pants and a shirt, he wouldn’t even have wound up in the past in the first place. But what’s done is done, and Naruto has to live with it. For now, he was in the past, raising a teenager, all in a day. Kurama was going to laugh himself sick when he woke up and figured out Naruto had mysteriously acquired a kid. The fox was an asshole like that.

“Alright then Obito, let’s head out. We’ve got about four hours before the sun starts to go down, we need to make the most of it.”

-0-0-0-

Hours later, Obito and Naruto sat across from each other, a little ways away from the fire. They’d caught six more squirrels, stocking up more than they had earlier. Naruto had let Obito use a little chakra to get the coals blazing hot, and they paid close attention to it, to make sure it was still hot enough. The squirrels rested on a makeshift wooden rack over the fire, their amazing scent filling the cave. The two ninja had become too tempted, sitting so close to the source, that they had to move away. In order to distract themselves, they were engaged in a very intense game of Two Truths and A Lie.

“I took a hugely strong opponent by turning myself into a group of sexy women, I ate a bowl filled with bugs, and I’ve had a hand shoved through my lung.”

“No way,” Obito shrieked. “There’s no way two of those are true, stop bullshitting!”

Naruto laughed loudly, nodding his head. “Yes, way. I swear, two of those are true. Come on, just guess.”

“Fine, fine,” Obito grumbled. “There’s no way you took out somebody by turning into a group of women, I’m not an idiot.”

“You’re right!” Naruto sang. Within a second, his face turned devious. “I turned into a group of sexy men, not women.”

Obito let out a cry of disgust, scooting back. “You’re nasty, that’s so gay. I can’t believe you.”

Obito’s thought for a second, before hitting Naruto with an even nastier look. “You ate a bowl full of fucking bugs?”

“Hey,” Naruto pointed at his face. “There is nothing wrong with being gay, it’s not nasty. And I didn’t have a choice about the bugs.”

“Whatever, you’re still nasty. My turn?”

Naruto shook his head, flopping back onto the dirt. “It’s getting late, and we have an early start tomorrow. We should probably get some sleep.”

Naruto felt bone tired, the long day wearing on him. He was ready for a good night of sleep, in preparation for the day's run tomorrow. Naruto’s chakra stores were a little over halfway full, and by tomorrow they should be most of the way, where he would use his chakra to run. Naruto had full plans to keep going all the way to Waterfall once he started tomorrow, only taking short breaks to use the bathroom and refuel. Naruto knew it would be hard for Obito, and was completely prepared to have a clone carry him until they reached the border of Waterfall and Grass, where Naruto would take him back. Just in case, Naruto wanted his hands free on his way through the rest of Kusa.

Naruto felt a sudden weight on his stomach as Obito flopped down onto him, pointy chin digging painfully into his sternum. Naruto wheezed as his freshly healed rib cracked a bit, but thankfully, Obito didn’t seem to really remember doing it. Looking down, they made eye contact.

“What’s up, kid?”

“Are you going to cuddle me for warmth again tonight?”

Naruto sputtered, hand coming up to lightly bonk Obito’s hair. “I was cold! I didn’t mean to get that close, I was asleep!”

Obito grinned cheekily, chin digging farther down. It took effort for Naruto not to shove him off. “I mean, it is pretty cold. And old people like you need to keep warm, after all. I don’t mind if you don’t try to grope me.”

Naruto sputtered a little bit harder. “I am not old! I turned nineteen like three weeks ago! Not my fault that you’re just a little kid who thinks I’m a geezer, you’re practically an infant. It’s understandable. And I never groped you, you little creep!”

Obito scowled up at him, arms coming up and batting playfully at Naruto’s face. Naruto privately thought that the little kid comment was dead on. Naruto was eighty percent sure that older kids acted younger after a traumatic event, and he didn’t want to upset Obito by mentioning that's kind of how he was acting today. The kid would be back to normal in a week or two, he just needed time to sort it out. And if it did turn out this was how he normally was, Naruto wasn’t complaining. He was kind of funny.

“I am not an infant! I turn thirteen on February 10th, I’m almost a teenager. I’m going to get a tattoo, it’s gonna be awesome.”

Naruto snorted, worming his arms around Obito’s torso. He gently dumped him off to the side closest to the fire. Obito immediately stole his arm, tucking it under his head as a pillow. The gear reattached to his belt dug into Naruto’s side, but he didn’t mind. It made a ninja feel better to have their supplies at hand, after all. Obito flipped around, back to Naruto, trying to leach warmth from the fire.

“Sure, you can have a tattoo. One that’ll wash away in a week, but hey, you could have a whole packet of them!” Naruto purposely pitched his voice higher, faking excitement. Predictably, he got a smack to his thigh for the effort.

Before long, Naruto felt Obito start to slump farther back into him, the young ninja falling asleep quickly. Naruto turned his head a bit, snuggling his face into Obito’s soft hair. Sue him, it looked inviting. Naruto tucked his free arm under his own head, closing his eyes. 

Sleep came for him quickly.

-0-0-0-

Naruto woke up first, the light inside the cavern still dark. Naruto could tell it was the middle of the night by the moonlight shining in. He was mildly relieved to wake up naturally, and not from Obito having a nightmare. To be honest, that’s what he had expected. Still, he was a little surprised to have woken up this early, and feel wide awake at that.

At some point during the night, Obito had turned himself around. His face was pressed into Naruto’s shoulder, his calloused hands curled up against his chest. His legs were pushed up against Naruto’s thighs, almost in a fetal position. Little puffs of air dusted Naruto’s shoulder, and he couldn’t help the smile that stole over his face. 

God, he felt like such a sap. Naruto was kind, but he had never been this gentle with anybody. Hell, he had called the kid buddy! He never called anybody buddy, much less a fellow shinobi. It was like he couldn’t help but be soft with this kid, and it scared him a little. Naruto was a good person, but he’d always been rough around the edges. He had never tried so hard before to be so delicate with another person, and it threw him off at how much he wanted to be careful with this kid when he was upset. Naruto had barely hugged anybody before, and all of a sudden he was cuddling this kid at multiple points throughout the previous day. He didn’t know how to explain it, but he could adknowledge it was probably a good thing.

Carefully, Naruto inched his way out from underneath Obito. He tugged one of the kid’s arms up beneath his head, the other still resting close to his chest. It was quick work for Naruto to pack up the food and the canteen, a makeshift container made out of a log Naruto had hollowed out. He’d used a Rasengan to sand it down out of Obito’s view, wary of getting splinters from it. A couple of strips of towel were wormed through two holes at the top, long enough that Naruto could throw it over his head and wear it like a satchel, the fabric cutting diagonally across his chest. He looked mega dumb, but it worked.

Making one last round, he made sure they had everything they needed. Making his way back to Obito, Naruto considered for a second. Naruto had planned to have a clone help carry Obito if needed, but Naruto had expected to wake up later than he had. There shouldn’t be anybody out right now, it was too early into the morning. If Naruto pushed hard, he could reach the border in just a few hours, at right around daybreak.

Making a split second decision, Naruto crouched down. Quietly, he bundled Obito up into his arms, holding him in a bridal carry. Naruto had expected him to wake up at the movement, but the only move the young ninja made was to tuck his face back into Naruto’s shoulder. Naruto figured he was so tired out from yesterday that he didn’t even register Naruto lifting him, which was kind of flattering. Even the most exhausted ninja would bolt awake at somebody they didn’t know touching them, not trusting whoever it was. The fact that Obito hardly stirred at Naruto’s touch was a bit of a big deal.

Naruto grinned dopily, gathering Obito just a bit closer to his chest. He didn’t look back as he made his way out into the open air. The place had sheltered them well enough, but Naruto had no love lost for it. If anything, he wanted to get as far away from it and this country as possible. Setting a brisk pace, Naruto disappeared into the trees.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so this is kind of a filler chapter. It's kind of linking their end goal and their journey, and I didn't think I had to get into specifics about what kind of clothes they were wearing or anything extra like that. And also, I just want you all to know that I do read all of your comments, and I take them into consideration. I do go back and make edits based on them, and I really appreciate all the support and advice you have given me so far. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint! Thank you all so much.

Obito started to stir just a few kilometers past the border.

Naruto had been carrying the young shinobi for about five hours now, having not stopped for a break once. Naruto had been able to avoid any conflict while getting across the border, successfully sneaking past the border guards. There were few, and it was almost laughably easy for Naruto to skulk his way around the patrols. He hadn’t realized how skilled at stealth he had become until he had easily hidden from a group of four other ninja. 

The sun had started to appear about half an hour ago, the warm rays slowly stealing across the woods. It was a relief to feel the warm sun soaking his right side and back, bathing the forest around him in soft light. Judging by the position of it in the sky, it was about seven in the morning. It didn’t take long for the sun to fully rise above the edge of the trees, the rays getting stronger. It was when they started to shine on Obito’s face that the boy started to wake up.

Naruto observed as Obito, grunting, threw a floppy arm over his eyes. Obito groaned lowly, scrubbing his face with his forearm. It didn’t take long for Obito to realise that something wasn’t right, going stiff in seconds, sleepiness forgotten. Out of nowhere, Obito hurled a haymaker straight at his face, millimeters away from taking out his eye. Naruto dodged back in surprise, grip loosening just enough for Obito to take another swing, obviously forgetting who was carrying him. Naruto honestly wasn’t expecting that reaction, so it was understandable that Naruto kinda, maybe sorta dropped him mid leap?

Obito yelped in surprise, making startled eye contact with Naruto as he plummeted, back still facing the ground. Naruto watched the recognition appear, followed quickly by sleepy betrayal. Naruto felt somewhat guilty as he lunged after Obito, catching him solidly around the waist, his other hand cupping the back of the boy's head. It was quick work for him to kick off a tree, landing solidly on a low hanging branch. Obito dangled limply from his grasp, sandals barely skimming the wood. Obito’s head slowly turned to the right, his lone eye making angry contact with Naruto.

Naruto smiled sheepishly. “Um, good morning?”

The scowl didn’t leave Obito’s face, the boy still staring at Naruto. Obito slowly raised his right hand, reaching it up and across his body, heading for Naruto’s face. Naruto, expecting a rightfully earned slap, was pleasantly surprised when Obito gently tapped his forehead with two fingers.

“Morning, idiot.”

The mad expression melted off Obito’s face, replaced by one of mild sleepiness. He turned away from Naruto, stretching out his limbs like a cat, resting all of his weight on Naruto’s hold around his waist. Naruto toddled them to the edge of the branch, nudging Obito’s feet carefully over the side. This time, he dropped him on purpose, Obito landing in a sitting position. Naruto ruffled his hair, and dropped down beside him. 

Obito shoved his shoulder. “Why didn’t you wake me when you left? I could have run too, you didn’t have to carry me the whole time. How long have you been running, anyway?”

Naruto shrugged, pulling the container to his lap. He fished into it and passed Obito a squirrel, taking one for himself. “I woke up around two, so it’s been about five hours. I figured if I pushed myself we’d be able to make it across the border before anybody was really awake, and chances are you’re still pretty sore, which would have slowed us down. I thought it would be simpler if I just did all the hard work until your body is better.”

Obito frowned, looking away from Naruto, obviously unhappy. Naruto frowned too, leaning forward and over, waiting for Obito to look over at him. When he finally had Obito’s attention, Naruto spoke gently. “Just because I chose to carry you doesn’t mean you’re weak, Obito. It just means you needed a little extra help this time.” Naruto waited until he got a reluctant nod from the preteen, and nodded back in return, satisfied. Leaning back, Naruto pulled the canteen out of the bucket, and handed it over to Obito.

Naruto started to speak again, idly swinging his legs. “So, I know I said we probably wouldn’t make it to Waterfall until tomorrow morning, but since we left so early it should actually be late tonight, so long as we keep up this pace. If you want to run by yourself now that's okay, but fair warning it’ll be faster if you hitch a ride.”

Obito hummed, thinking for a second. “I don’t really like it, but it makes sense. Can I ride on your back instead this time though, since I’m awake?”

Naruto nodded in agreement. “Yeah, sorry about that. I just didn’t want to wake you, you looked like you needed sleep.”

Naruto and Obito took the chance for a quick breather, inhaling the crisp fall air. Naruto took a minute to carefully massage his calves, slightly sore from running so much for the first time in a while. He really had gotten out of the swing of things the past few months, for once focusing more on learning than fighting. It was a nice change in peacetime, but it was quite ill suited for a time of war. Beside’s, he had mainly focused on sealing technique, and not much else. For the life of him, he couldn’t even tell you the name of the current leader of Waterfall, even though he had met the man’s son. Hell, he wasn’t even sure he remembered the son’s name. Shibiki, Shubuku, something like that? Naruto had literally no idea, and didn’t want to ask Obito for fear of seeming too dumb. Speaking of, it really was time to get back on the move again. 

Naruto turned back to Obito, the other ninja laying back against the trunk. “Are you ready to head out?”

“Yeah, lemme just go pee really quick.” Obito stood up, tossing the bones of his meal off into the forest. He made a careful hop to the ground, and stepped quickly behind a nearby tree. Naruto tactfully moved himself farther down the branch, trying to give Obito just a little more privacy.

Naruto busied himself packing away the canteen, throwing the remains of his own breakfast in a random direction. It was quick work to throw the canteen back into the log, taking a quick second to drip some over his fingers to clean them, especially the tips where his nail beds were. He didn’t want them to get infected, which was a real possibility considering Kurama was asleep. They had to be careful, it was only half full, and they needed to make it last until they reached Waterfall. Taking the opportunity, he also found a tree nearby to relieve himself. Honestly, he didn’t just have to pee, but he only had one pair of boxers, and toilet paper was only another fourteen hours away. Naruto could wait.

Tucking himself away, Naruto rubbed his hands vigorously against his boxers, wishing for soap. He stepped back from behind the tree, finding Obito already finished and waiting for him. He made his way over to him, dropping down into a crouch, arms extended behind him. Obito awkwardly inched around him, clamoring gracelessly onto his back. It was quick work for Naruto to link his wrists together under Obito’s butt, giving him somewhere to support himself that wasn’t just his grip on Naruto’s hips. 

Without much more talk, they set off, back up into the trees.

-0-0-0-

Hours later, the two man team reached the large waterfall that was the entrance to the village. Thousands of gallons of water pounded down the edge of the cliff it was situated in, the moonlight lighting the droplets up like diamonds. It fed into a large river, sections branching off in every direction. It was as beautiful as it was intimidating.

Naruto and Obito both took a second to just stare, entranced. They had both seen waterfalls before, and Naruto had been here once, but it was nonetheless an impressive sight. Naruto shook himself out of his stupor, dragging the container over his shoulder and dropping it. Obito leaned back and helped wrestle it off from behind, legs wrapped around Naruto’s hips. They had eaten all of the food, and the canteen they could tuck into one of Obito’s pouches. Naruto turned his head. “Quick question, Obito. Are you a good swimmer?”

Obito nodded, eyes not leaving the waterfall. “Yeah, I can even hold my breath for four minutes if I use chakra.”

Naruto huffed in relief. “Good, I forgot to tell you. I don’t know if you know, but to get into Takigakure you have to travel through an underground cave network at the base of the waterfall. I came here once when I was a kid, so I know a little bit of what it looks like on the inside. It's all underwater, and the entrance is guarded by a few shinobi. We’re going to need a cover story to get past them, considering neither of us have paperwork, and you still have your headband.”

Naruto felt Obito tense against his back, and saw his brow furrow. Wondering what was up, Naruto almost opened his mouth to ask if everything was okay. Before he could, however, Obito reached up and ripped off his headband. He had put it on at some point during the day, more from habit than anything, Naruto suspected. Naruto stayed quiet as he traced a shaky finger over the Leaf insignia.

Obito spoke quietly. “They didn’t take it with them. Half of it was pinned under the boulder with my head, so they couldn’t get it loose without hurting me. I shouldn’t even have it anyway, it was supposed to go home with them.”

Naruto could see Obito was thinking, and kept his thoughts on the matter to himself. Whatever Obito was going over, Naruto would support him no matter what. Finally, Obito let the headband slip over Naruto’s shoulder, one end dangling freely. Naruto gently took it from him, keeping his face soft and open.

“Can-can we drop it into the river? Maybe that way it’ll make its way back down to Konoha?” 

Naruto and Obito both knew that had an almost zero percent chance of happening, the river leading all over the continent. Thousands of tiny intersections could take it from Waterfall to anywhere a river existed. It could wind up in Konoha, or it could wind up in Suna. Either way, it most likely wasn’t going back. Nonetheless, Naruto nodded.

Throwing a look at the moon, Naruto chose an offshoot of the main river that headed southeast, in the direction of Fire country and, consequently, Konoha. He dropped into a crouch beside it, hand dangling the headband over the rushing water. Just to make sure, he asked Obito one last time if he really meant it.

Obito gestured his hand in conformation, face buried in Naruto’s locks. They were both aware that either way, they would both be safer if Obito got rid of the headband. It was easier for a skilled civilian than a ninja of any caliber to make their way around, especially in times such as this. If they could both play at being less harmless than they were, they’d stand a better chance at getting to the coast uninterrupted. With that said, Naruto still hesitated for another moment, taking a second for himself to stare at the headband.

There was nothing special about it, just a typical shinobi headband. A few dents here and there, especially on the right side of it. A couple of scrapes, and some tears in the fabric. It really was unremarkable, but it was the only thing still tying Obito to a life dedicated to war. The only thing tying Obito to Konoha, undoubtedly declared KIA by now. Naruto knew they would go back eventually, but there was something strangely final about letting the band slip from between his fingers. The strength of the river carried it off in seconds, the gleaming metal vanishing under a dark wave. Naruto was shocked as a flash of black went sailing past his head, not having felt Obito move. Naruto could make out the rough fabric of the kunai pouch, which meant they were only left with the canteen. He didn’t like it, but he could concede it was a smart choice.

Naruto patted Obito’s leg, queuing for the boy to drop down. Obito didn’t bother to try to stand up, sliding down his back until his butt tapped the ground. Naruto, still crouched, spun in an awkward pirouette. He sat down as well, touching the souls of his bare feet together. Obito sat across from him, looking mournfully at the river. Without his headband, his hair got in the way of his eye. Naruto carefully waved a hand, catching Obito’s attention.

“What’s the cover story, kiddo? Are we mentor and student, boss and employee, brother and brother? We need to have our story straight before we go rolling up to those guards. It’s a time of war, and they don’t trust anybody. We’ve got to sell this good.”

Naruto ended his statement with a decisive nod, arms crossing in front of his chest to ward off the chill. As hot as he ran, even Naruto had to concede that this was a little much to be in without any clothing. The farther they went North, the farther the temperature would drop, only getting warm again once summer comes back. They both needed new clothes before they could even attempt to make it that far. The only option they had was to get into Waterfall and offer their help in any way they could. It was important that Naruto made things better for Obito, and a fresh start at life was the best he could offer him.

Obito broke through his inner rambling, speaking hesitantly. “We could be guardian and ward? I know I look pretty young for my age, and to be honest, you look sort of older. I thought you were twenty something when we first met, that's part of the reason I was so freaked out. If we say I’m ten and you’re twenty-two, there would be less questions, and less attempts to try to separate us. The bigger the age gap in this situation, the better.”

Naruto was completely on board with this plan, and only had a few concerns. Idly, he looked over at the waterfall, about a hundred meters from them. Nobody had seemed to notice them yet.

“We look nothing alike though, we’d have to say we’re completely not related, which could raise a few red flags. And don’t even think about trying to henge, we’d never make it past the guards, they’re too vigilant right now. Also, we’ll have to come up with a fake name for you. People from Konoha would be more suspicious of a black haired teen with scars with your name, than a black haired kid with scars with a different name. I know they think you’re dead, but something like that can raise a lot of questions in the shinobi world, and none of them are good.” Naruto turned back toward Obito, eye’s widening in surprise at the look on Obito’ face. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Obito looked frighteningly close to tears, frowning at Naruto. “I- I know you’re right about changing my name, I’m just being stupid. Don’t worry about it.”

Naruto shook his head, frowning in concern. He reached a hand out and put it on Obito’s knee. “Hey, it’s okay to tell me what’s wrong, I’m not going to yell at you. Just tell me what it is.”

Obito’s brows got lower, frowning down at his hands now. “...-ve from my parents.”

“What?”

Obito spoke up a little louder, voice a bit stronger. “It’s the only thing I have from my parents. My name, it’s the only thing they gave me before they died. Everything else, the clan got rid of. I just, I just don’t want to spit on that, you know?”

Obito looked back up at him, eye’s pleading with Naruto to get it. Naruto did get it, probably better than Obito himself, if you were comparing their circumstances. Naruto didn’t know what he would do if someone he’d just met told him he’d have to temporarily throw away the name his parents gave him, with no choice otherwise. As an adult, Naruto could see the sense in it. But as a child, whichever stupid bastard that suggested that idea would have gotten Naruto’s boot to the face. Naruto, as usual, didn’t stop to think before he spoke.

“Then let me name you.”

“W-what?” Obito stuttered.

“Let me name you instead,” Naruto wouldn’t back down, not taking back his offer. “That way nobody can see it as you spitting on anything. It was my decision to think of name’s for you, not your own. And in return, you can choose a new name for me too, so we’re even. How about it?”

Naruto didn’t actually want to give up his name, loving the premise behind his parents choosing it. But Naruto believed in compromise, and forcing Obito to give up his name without offering his in return just wouldn’t be fair. Besides, when baby him was born, Naruto was sure they’d be almost back to Konoha by then. It would make things a lot simpler if he already had another name he was accustomed to.

“It’s not forever, right? Just until we go back?” Obito questioned.

“Yeah, just until we go back, and we’ll use our actual name’s in private. Who knows, maybe I’ll let it stick. I’ve never really had a cool nickname before.” Naruto wasn’t counting the bitchy nicknames his team gave him, or the one thing about him being the most unpredictable ninja. They were more titles than anything else, and there was no way Dickless would ever be considered a nickname by Naruto. Sai’s strange shows of affection aside, Naruto really didn’t have a clue what went into naming somebody. He’d just have to try his best.

“Then yeah, you can name me. Just call me by my actual name in private like you said, okay?”

Naruto hummed in agreement, already brainstorming. Perhaps predictably, Tobi popped into his mind. Naruto wanted to slap himself, there was no way he’d call the Obito of this timeline Tobi. God forbid he ever tell Obito where Naruto was really from, and Obito made that connection to his nickname. He’d be heartbroken. Also, it was a tad too close to his actual name to be safe, and Naruto knew it. 

Naruto thought hard for another few moments, ignoring Obito’s impatient rocking from his peripheral. It had to be something good, if not something meaningful. Not some bullshit like Boruto or something, but something with an actual reason behind it. And it couldn’t be the same as somebody still alive in this timeline, it had to be something else. Something encouraging, something that Naruto and Obito could both care about. In seconds, he had it. His eye’s zeroed in on Obito’s face, picturing it. Trying to gauge if he really did have the right name. Satisfied, he spoke.

“Kai,” Naruto says softly. “Your name is Kai.” Naruto didn’t really know why he said what he did next. “Kai Uzumaki.”

It didn’t take long for Obito to work out the meanings to his temporary name. “Ocean, shell, restoration, and recovery. So my name will be ocean spiral? So like a whirlpool? That’s pretty cool, actually.”

“Don’t forget,” Naruto says softly. “There’s one other meaning you’re not mentioning kiddo.”

Obito’s stunned gaze locked with Naruto’s, something intense and hopeful there. Softly, he says it. “It means I get to start over.”

Naruto grins widely at him, feeling happy with his name choice. He couldn’t bring himself to . regret the little pun he had made with it. “So, think of anything for me yet? Something good?”

Obito looks away from him again, this time for better reasons. It doesn’t take long for Obito to tell Naruto the name he’d come up with, evidently having put some serious thought into it. “Mamoru. That’s what I want to call you. Mamoru Uzumaki.”

Naruto beamed wildly at the name, barely refraining from bowling Obito over with a hug. Instead, he chooses to pat the knee under his hand. “I promise to live up to it, kid.”

Pretending he doesn’t see Obito’s blush, they work out a plan together. Obito would be the stepson of a distant Uzumaki cousin, whose parents were found and killed by a coincidental group of Iwa ninja in the area. Kai would be the only one who got away, a kind member of the attacking shinobi deciding to take pity on the child, and leave him with some light scarring on his face, and a missing eye. Mamoru would be the cousin they were traveling to, in order to keep their heads down during the war. Concerned for his family, he had left his cabin in the forest to search for his wayward clan members. Upon finding Kai, Mamoru had taken the boy back to his home. It was only a few days after being healed that Mamoru’s house was burned down by another passing group of battling ninja, the two barely escaping with their lives. Hence, the lack of clothes and papers. The only reason they had lived was because of Momoru’s emergency measures, using a seal to create a crawlspace for them to escape from. Considering the circumstances, it was actually mostly believable. It wasn’t rock solid, but it was enough for Obito and Naruto to work with. They just had to have faith.

Approaching where the guard station should be under the waterfall, Naruto took one last good look at Obito, praying for everything to turn out alright. Obito looked back at him, seemingly having the same thoughts as he was. Putting a hand on Obito’s shoulder, Naruto marched them through the waterfall.

Mamoru and Kai Uzumaki emerged on the other side.

-0-0-0-

They had made it in.

It had taken a lot of bullshit and just a bit of elbow grease, but they had made it through the guards. It had taken all of their best acting skills to keep up the charade of being two harmless civilians, Naruto at one point letting them pin him to the ground with a knife at his neck. It had been a trial for both of them to not go for the man’s throat. As it was, Obito had burst into loud, obnoxious wails at the sight of the knife pinned to Naruto’s jugular. Hyping up the act of being a ten year old, Kai Uzumaki took center stage at the guard station. With several cries begging them to let Mamoru go, Kai’s voice rose to a demonic screeching fit. Hell, had Naruto not known what the jig was, he might have believed it. It didn’t take long for the guards to be convinced their story was real, all of them most likely desperate to get Kai the hell away from them.

Naruto really had to commend Obito’s acting, though. He perfectly played the part of a scared ten year old civilian, fooling even trained ninja. It wasn’t until they had settled into a room at an inn inside the village that Obito had dropped the act, and even that was only after Naruto had thrown up some privacy seals.

They had been given a free one night stay at an inn of their choosing, as a gesture of goodwill from the Waterfall Shinobi. Naruto had even been given a set of ratty clothes to wear. After one night, they’d have to earn their keep and supplies. Naruto suspected they had gotten the night free because of Obito. At one point, he had done a truly stunning rendition of a cranky child just wanting to find somewhere comfortable to sleep, and the offer of an inn had gotten his character to settle down for a few quiet, precious moments.

Naruto knew it would be hard to keep up the acts until he had filled out for proper documentation, but Naruto had faith that he and Obito could do it. Once they had their supplies, they’d head farther North, far away from the village. Only then could they act more like themselves, having to pretend now to keep suspicion off of them. But hey, Naruto couldn’t deny it had it perks.

They’d been given a room with a bath attached, and Naruto couldn’t deny the luxurious feeling of lounging in a warm bath. Obito had gotten his already, then wrapped himself in a spare yukata before throwing himself on the bed. His clothes lurked in the corner of the bathroom, piled haphazardly.

Naruto soaked for as long as he could, fighting the pull of his eyelids. When the power of sleep became too much, Naruto reluctantly pulled himself out of the tub. He couldn't put into words the feeling of wrapping a warm yukata around himself. Wandering back into the bedroom, he found Obito asleep on top of the blankets, yukata open and exposing his chest. Shaking his head, Naruto dragged the blankets out from underneath him, ignoring the grumbles. Crawling in beside Obito, Naruto tucked the blankets around the both of them, making sure to cover Obito completely. It wasn’t long before Naruto was asleep too.

-0-0-0-

Their stay in Waterfall wasn’t long, only a few days. They had been as careful as they could to not let their acting slip, and for the most part it had paid off. At one point, Kai had accidentally introduced himself as Obito to the clerk at the clothing store, but the elderly man had laughed it off.

It was surprisingly easy to obtain work, once Mamoru had gone looking for it. There was always a need for grunt work, it seemed, even with a war going on. Within a few days they had enough for supplies, Naruto’s kind boss lending him a little more than he deserved. That, coupled with a couple of dollars Obito had, led to them being able to purchase thick winter outfits, and a box of ration bars for the trip. They had also been able to find a rather cheap canteen, picking that up as well. Naruto didn’t want to waste anymore money than they had to, so they decided together they could sleep rough for a few days.

It had taken no time for the shinobi at the guard station to help them obtain identification, having developed a burning dislike of Kai. The quicker the guards could get them the proper paperwork, the quicker they were out of their city. 

So, four days after they had arrived, Obito and Naruto stood at the back exit of Waterfall village, the one that was only used to leave in emergencies. Kai had whined enough at the guards about having to get wet again that they promptly didn’t care about the rules, much preferring Kai to be out of their hair as soon as possible.

About to step out of the gate, Naruto made eye contact with Obito one last time. Obito nodded confidently at him, grin obvious even around the scarf covering his mouth. Tugging his gloves on tighter, Naruto clapped a hand on Obito’s back. 

Together, they headed North, towards the coast.


	8. Chapter 8

A howling wind tore through the forest, shrieking through the thin branches of the bared trees. Snow squalls, common for this time of year, came and went like the tide. At their best, they were a mild inconvenience. At their worst, they whisked away all sight, barely letting a man see his own hands, even if they were held up to his face. The worst though was the freezing rain, breeching through even the thickest of clothing. Aptly named Waterfall Country, the sheer amount of rivers and lakes created a moisture content sky high. Following the heels of Rain Country, Waterfall Country rained at least four days out of seven. In the spring months, that number changed to seven out of seven. The temperature was fluctuating enough that the two boys got treated to a little bit of everything, up to and including hail the size of smoke bombs.

Miserable, Naruto and Obito were currently huddled together behind a felled tree. The girth of the wood protected them from the worst of the wind, but hardly any of the rain. Thankfully, at the moment there was neither rain, snow, or hail; just the wind. Naruto cycled his chakra furiously, pressed shoulder to shoulder with Obito. Naruto had taken off his right glove, funneling his warm chakra into Obito, helping the boy stay warm. Even though Obito had fire chakra and Naruto had wind, the sheer amount of chakra Naruto wielded could keep a hundred men warm for days. Therefore, even though they were soaked, they were in no danger of catching sick.

Naruto and Obito had run through the previous day, Obito putting forth a valiant effort to keep up. He’d lasted around seven hours before Naruto had to carry him, this time on his back. They’d both gotten a mere three hours of sleep the night before, the horrible weather keeping them awake and wary all night. They had settled down in a hollow log the night before, the giant tree big enough to fit both of them laying head to head. They had fallen asleep at midnight, and by five o’clock Naruto had roused both of them, sleep not a reality with the circumstances.

At the moment, it was roughly noon, judging by Naruto’s internal clock. They had a little less than a day’s running to go, and Obito was again starting to flag behind. When they got up after this break, Naruto decided he wasn’t going to stop until they reached the coast. While in Waterfall Village itself, Naruto had picked up a small map of the country. There was a village right on the coast of Asui Bay, named Kitahama Market. It was a trade town, and it was exactly what Naruto was looking for. 

Naruto was tired of being wet and tired, and he was positive Obito felt the same. He had a feeling they were both ready to be in a warm bed again, not just a hollowed log. Gripping Obito’s hand, Naruto shook it a litte, catching the boy’s attention. 

“Five more minutes kid. Then we’re going straight to Kitahama, no more breaks. I’m tired of this shit weather.”

Naruto knew Obito was smart enough to realize Naruto would carry him the whole way there, but Naruto also knew Obito was miserable enough not to protest. Though they may not be cold, they were both waterlogged and hungry for a warm meal.

“Hey Naruto, I almost forgot,” Obito murmured, perking up a bit. He fished around in the back right pocket of his pants, taking care to not let go of Naruto’s hand. “I got you something when we were in Waterfall. I thought you would like it.”

Obito pulled his hand out of his pocket, something clasped in it. He offered his closed fist to Naruto. Hesitantly, Naruto offered a cupped palm, and Obito opened his hand. “You said a couple of days ago your birthday was recently, and I wanted to get you something. I hope you like it, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to, okay? Happy Birthday, Naruto.”

A simple silver ear cuff sat in Naruto’s hand, along with a small silver bracelet. The ear cuff was two thin bars of silver, crossed over each other, making an X. The bracelet was a single band of silver, just a little thicker than the ear cuffs. The ends of the bracelet met in a sliding mechanism, meaning Naruto could stretch it to get it over his hand, and it would close back over his wrist. A warmth entirely unaffiliated with chakra filled his chest, and he had to fight to keep his eyes from getting wet. Gently, he traced his thumb over the curve of the bracelet. A wobbly grin stretched across his face, head ducking down to hide his expression. He didn’t want Obito to see how ridiculous he looked over a birthday gift.

“I know they look cheap, but they were the only things I could work for.” Obito babbled, oblivious to Naruto’s actions. “I went out for a couple of hours and did some work for a vendor, and he gave me those as a reward. He said they’re ninja jewelry, and they’re stronger than they look. I know they look kinda girly, which is weird, but I just wanted you to have a present from me. I’m not calling you gay or anything, I just-”

Naruto interrupted him, shaking his head furiously. He leaned forward, turning into Obito, letting the boy see his face. Naruto heard his breath hitch as he got a look at Naruto’s teary eyes and wide grin. Naruto’s throat bobbed as he spoke, voice a little hoarse. “It’s the best present anybody’s ever gotten for me. Thank you, Obito.”

It was true, Naruto wasn’t lying. As much as he adored Iruka’s yearly treat to Ichiraku’s, nothing could measure up to this. Well, Kurama would beg to differ, having been given to him on his birthday, but he didn’t count. Naruto had considered him a curse for almost seventeen years, so he could suck on that. Other than that, Naruto had never been given an actual birthday present. This was his first one.

Obito stared at him, blushing. His eye was wide, the other now covered in an eyepatch. Slowly, Obito started to smile at him. Not his usual wide grin, but a soft, almost embarrassed, smile. Naruto let his face fall into one of his own, flushing at being so weepy over a present. He offered Obito his left hand, pulling loose his right from Obito’s grip. He wiggled the right one, tugging his other glove from his pocket and putting it on. He sat the spare hand in his lap, watching as Obito quickly tugged on his own glove.

“Can you help me put the bracelet on? I don’t have much dexterity in the other right now, I still need to do some more physical therapy to get that back.”

Obito cocked his head to the side, reaching for Naruto’s left hand. He carefully worked the bracelet over Naruto’s gloved knuckles. “So you weren’t born with it like that.”

Naruto shook his head, raising the bracelet up to study it. It looked nice against the tanned skin of his wrist, barely visible between the sleeve of his wrist and his glove. “Me and my best friend got in a pretty big fight about two years ago, and hurt each other a lot more than we intended. This medic I knew was able to fix it, but my best friend lost his. He could have gotten it fixed but he’s stubborn, and decided it was his punishment. What an asshole, am I right?” Naruto had to doctor the story a little bit, but kept it to the basics. He didn’t know whether or not to tell Obito he was from the future yet.

Obito looked at him like he’d grown a second head, fiddling absently with the ear cuff. “Who would choose to lose an arm, like, ever? I mean, it's an arm? I could understand a foot or a finger or something, but how would you fight without an arm?”

“That’s what I said!” Naruto threw his hands up in exasperation, feeling validated. “And very well, apparently. He kicked my ass to Suna and back the last time we fought, but in my defense it had been a while. His girlfriend smacked him for me though, so in the end I kind of won.”

Obito laughed at him, handing back the ear cuff. It was quick work for Naruto to fix it to his right ear. “What’s his name, anyway? And his girlfriend’s too, she sounds awesome.”

Naruto was about to say Sasuke and Sakura, but thought better of it. Two Naruto’s could be explained as a fluke if need be, but two other people with the same names as little Naruto’s future classmates? Yeah, not gonna happen.

“Satoru and Sachiko,” He blurted out. “We’ve been best friends since we were twelve. I’d trust them with my life.”

“Well, they sound like good people.” Obito spoke firmly. “Can I meet them someday? Where are they?”

Naruto’s grin became a little more forced, a little more sad. He reached out and ruffled Obito’s hair. “That’s a secret, kid. I’ll tell you when you’re older.” If Naruto got his way, and got to go home, Obito would never meet his version of Sasuke and Sakura. He might meet little Naruto’s versions, but not big Naruto’s. Naruto tried to ignore how sad the thought made him, instead busying himself with messing up Obito’s hair, sending it further into his eyes.

Naruto waved off Obito whines, throwing a look at the sky. He could tell that it would start snowing again soon, and he wanted to head out before it started. He grabbed Obito’s hood, tugging the both of them up. Instantly, Naruto had to brace himself against the wind, Obito squawking as he was blown behind him. The only thing keeping him from flying off was Naruto’s tight grip on the neck of his jacket. He hoped that once they were out of the forest the wind would die down, increasing their pace. As it were, the forest did nothing but create a vortex, the wind weaving angrily between the trees.

Naruto pulled Obito closer to his back, bending over and sticking his leg back. Obito planted a boot on the back of his calf, stepping jerkily up. It didn’t take long for Obito to get comfortable, tucking his face into Naruto’s shoulder. Naruto could feel Obito’s cold wrist making contact with his neck, and pulled his chakra up to the point to keep circulating between them. 

Fighting against the wind, Naruto took them forward.

-0-0-0-

Naruto couldn’t keep the grin off his face even if he tried. Just a kilometer off, Naruto could make out the outline of Kitahama.

He had been right about the wind being strengthened by the forest, the howling dying down when there were fewer trees. The closer to the coast they got, the further spread out the trees became. For the last few kilometers, there was nothing but grassland, rivers, and the occasional bush. Dirt roads from all over the country twined together in the middle of it, leading into one big road that started about two kilometers away from the village. Naruto had kept off the roads for the most part of the trip, avoiding running into anybody. Obito, asleep on his back, was in no condition for a fight. While he was mostly physically fine, Naruto had no desire to throw him into a battle anytime soon. Naruto didn’t know if he could mentally handle it, considering the last fight he was in ended with several fatal injuries and the loss of an eye.

Naruto set a brisk pace on the road to Kitahama, the village becoming more and more clear as Naruto went closer. Though small from a distance, the coastal town was actually very big. A large iron fence ran around the whole of the town, bright colored banners and tassels giving warmth to the cold metal. Multi-story buildings rose up against each other inside, towering over Naruto. There were stalls everywhere, even in this weather, selling all kinds of goods. Naruto could make out the cool colors of winter clothing, trinkets, and food being sold. As he came up to the entrance gate, he could smell the aroma of freshly cooked meat, and hear the hustle and bustle of the town. Off to the side, several children and adults were ice skating on a frozen pond, comically falling against each other. Naruto could hear their laughter from here. Even though it was so close to Iwa, this place seemed untouched by the war.

Striding up to the friendly looking gate guards, Naruto offered them a bright smile. He was pleasantly surprised when they offered smiles back, one even waving at him. Naruto pulled the packet of identification papers out of his pocket, carefully working around Obito’s foot. He could swear he heard one of the gate guards coo at them, but he couldn’t be sure. Finally close enough to the counter, he offered the packet to the older guard stationed there.

“Purpose for visitin’?” The guard asked, scanning the packet.

“I’m hoping to find work and housing, actually. Me and my ward come from the south, and I decided to take us away from all the fighting. We’re looking for somewhere to settle.” Naruto offered cheerfully, hopeful grin on his face.

The guard looked a little suspicious now, scanning Naruto up and down. “That’s quite a ways to walk, son. This here says both of you are civilians, Mr. Uzumaki.” The guard started to read from the paper. 

“Mamoru Uzumaki, twenty-two, civilian. Originates from a small, unnamed settlement, south of Waterfall Village. Birthday is October twenty second, the nineteen-hundred and seventy-seventh Year of the Shodai. Ward is Kai Uzumaki, eleven, civilian. Originates from the same town, although the previous homestead is unknown. Birthday is February tenth, nineteen-hundred and eighty-ninth Year of the Shodai.”

The guard lowered the paper, looking up at Naruto over the top of it. “Now, how did the two of you walk your whole way up here? You've got no horse with you, and not much supplies by the look of you. This just ain't adding up, son.” Naruto kept the cheery grin on his face, even though on the inside he was sweating bullets. Obito hadn’t stirred at the guard speaking, still a limp weight at Naruto’s back. Naruto almost wished he’d wake up and help him sell this.

“With all due respect sir, we traveled with a merchant group up this way, but they were headed to Iron Country instead. They dropped us off just before sunrise and I walked us the rest of the way. We didn’t bring many supplies because we had them on the merchant carts, and we didn’t need to bring much for a few hours journey. We really mean no harm, I just want to make a home for my kid. He’s been hurt enough.”

Naruto ended his declaration solemnly, a serious look on his face. The main guard studied him intently, the other guards looking on as well. Naruto could feel sweat sliding down his back, nervous despite himself. He really wanted to rub the back of his neck, a nervous habit of his, but Obito kept him from doing it. Keeping eye contact with the guard, Naruto could see the man debating with himself, to trust Naruto’s story or not. Naruto could feel his hope sinking the longer the man deliberated.

Just as it seemed the guard was about to start speaking, Obito shifted against his back. The guard tensed as Obito squirmed, rutching his head farther up Naruto’s shoulder. Naruto could tell by the slight gasps that the guards had seen Obito’s face, his cheek squished into Naruto’s shoulder, obviously throwing Obito’s scars into sharp visibility. Obito huffed against his neck, tightening his grip on the front of Naruto’s coat. It was clear Obito was still asleep by the sloppiness of his movements.

Naruto had to struggle not to tense, suddenly wary of the looks the guards were giving Obito. While he was pretty sure they didn’t mean any harm, he wasn’t about to risk it when he was so drained. Even with his stamina, it had taken a lot out of him to keep up the pace on the way here. Without a break and decent sleep, Naruto was running on less chakra than he was comfortable with. If it did actually come to a fight, Naruto knew he would win, but he didn’t know how unscathed him and Obito would be. The preteen getting hurt was not an option, it didn’t matter that he was a shinobi as well. When Naruto trusted he could adequately defend himself, Obito would get to pick fights with whoever picked them first. Until then, he’d have to get stronger. Naruto had learned the hard way that determination didn't always mean you got to win a battle.

Naruto felt Obito shift a little more, refusing to look away from the guards to look over his shoulder. Naruto felt Obito’s eyelashes flutter against his neck as Obito roused, opening his eye just enough to see.

“Hmm?” He yawned sleepily. “We're here?”

“Yeah, bud, we’re here. Go back to sleep, it’s early yet.”

“Gunna wake me for breakfast?”

“Yeah, I promise.”

Naruto patted his foot, watching the guards listening to Obito talk. The main gate guard looked a little less tense now, eyes twitching between them minutely. Naruto let his guard down some, but not much. It was a good sign the guard didn’t look so tense anymore.

“Okay,” Obito hummed, voice sounding coated with slumber. “G’night, Dad.”

Naruto couldn’t stop his eyes from blowing wide at that, turning his head towards Obito. He faltered, the readiness for a fight fading fast. It took a second for common sense to kick in, and for Naruto to get his head back together. Obito was obviously acting again, and doing a damn good job of it. Even Naruto couldn’t tell Obito was awake, the young shinobi still convincingly limp on Naruto’s back. Looking at the guard now, Naruto could tell there would be no more trouble getting into the village.

“Alright son,” the guard spoke gruffly, betraying the now softer look on his face. “I believe ya. If yer lookin’ for work, cooking is always a favorite. There should be plenty if ya look hard ‘nough. Take good care’a that boy of yours, Mr.Uzumaki. Welcome to Kitahama.”

The guard handed Naruto back the papers, giving Naruto a nod of acknowledgement. He signalled for another of the guards to swing the gate open, beckoning Naruto through. Naruto dipped his head in thanks, shoving the papers haphazardly into his pocket. He tightened his grip on Obito, scurrying forward before the guards could change their mind. He blended in with the morning crowd, letting them take him where they will. It wasn’t until he and Obito were seamlessly directed into a calmer side street that he allowed himself to relax.

Naruto didn’t speak at all until he was well away from the guard station, waiting until he and Obito had a little bit of privacy. Naruto stepped down an alleyway, the only other form of life being a fat, ugly cat. Upon catching sight of Naruto, it stuck it’s unfortunate face in the air and walked off haughtily, stepping on Naruto’s boot as it passed by. Naruto was tempted to punt the damn thing.

Huffing, Naruto jostled Obito a little bit. “Hey, you can stop pretending to be asleep now. Nice going with that dad bit back there, by the way. I didn’t even know you were awake yet. Who the hell taught you how to act, anyway?”

Naruto, expecting a response, was mildly disconcerted when Obito didn’t answer. Again, Naruto shook him. “Hey, you’re good now, we’re alone. You can drop the act kiddo.”

Again, Obito didn’t outwardly react. Naruto pressed down the light panic building, concerned about Obito’s silence. He slapped Obito’s boot this time, not enough to hurt but enough to startle. Naruto hoped for a response this time, knowing that an unexpected attack was just the thing to get a person up and running. Naruto was proven right when Obito’s head shot off his shoulder, quickly followed by a clenched fist coming down hard on the top of his skull.

Naruto cried out, hands coming up and grabbing at the top of his head. Obito, now unsupported by Naruto’s arms, slid limply down his back. It ended with Obito clenching both of Naruto’s legs like an academy student, staring dazedly up at Naruto through the gap between his knees. Naruto, pain forgotten, couldn’t help but snort at the picture they made. He spread his legs so he was bowlegged, stooping over and looking through them at Obito, hands on his knees. Obito looked back, tiredness replaced by irritation. He smacked the back of Naruto’s calf, angry eye not leaving Naruto’s. “The hell was that for? If you wanted me to wake up you should have said so!”

Naruto scowled back at him, grabbing for the front of his shirt. He awkwardly tugged Obito through his legs, dodging the kick sent for his knee. He hiked him up to two feet, beginning to help swipe the dust off Obito’s coat. “Please, we both know you were awake. You were just being funny.”

Obito looked confused now, abandoning the dust where it was at. When he stopped, Naruto stopped, looking at him quizzically. “What do mean, I was being funny? I’ve been asleep since last night.”

Naruto felt his throat go dry, and struggled to speak around it. “What about at the guard station? That act you did? You really weren’t awake?”

Obito didn’t look confused or mad anymore, now he just looked worried. “I literally have no idea what you’re talking about, I don’t even remember getting to Kitahama. Are you sure you’re okay?” Obito stood up on the tips of his feet, pressing the back of his palm to Naruto’s forehead. “It doesn’t look like you have a fever, Naruto. Do you have any symptoms of chakra exhaustion?” Naruto couldn’t answer, eyes locked onto Obito’s face. The implications of Obito being asleep the whole time crashed down on him, making him fight to keep calm. 

Obito had called him Dad.

Naruto had expected to eventually be called ‘big brother’ or something of the sort, but never ‘Dad’. Sure, Obito was asleep when he said it, but it had still come from the boy's mouth. They’d known each other for barely a week; why would Obito ever let ‘Dad’ slip out, even when sleeping, unless he meant it? Naruto might be twenty-two on paper, but he was only nineteen in reality. He was not ready to be a Dad, this had to be a fleuk, a slip of the tongue. Obito wasn’t even aware of what he was saying, it was a complete accident. Naruto had said weirder while sleeping. But even then, he had never called anybody Dad, of all things! His team would have told him if that was a case, never ones to miss ragging on him. Naruto had to get them out of this alley before he blurted out something they’d both regret.

Stooping under Obito’s outstretched arm, Naruto caught Obito around the waist, hauling him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Obito immediately started protesting, but Naruto babbled over him. He didn’t want Obito to see the look on his face, still trying to reign himself in from his wild thoughts.

Bouncing out of the alley, Naruto looked around for his one comfort food, Obito quieting as he was suddenly surrounded by people. Spotting a ramen stall, Naruto hiked Obito higher, ignoring his wheeze of protest. Naruto threaded deftly through the crowd, making a beeline for it. He really needed to gather his head, and ramen was always the best way to do it. Walking up to the stall, Naruto ducked under the tarp hanging. He swung Obito back over his shoulder, plopping him down onto a free stool, his hair a mess. Naruto took the one beside him, letting an expression of relief melt across his face. 

The old man running the register turned toward them, a friendly look on his face. “What can I get for you boys?”

Naruto pulled off his gloves, running his hand through his spiky hair. He caught Obito’s look of bewilderment at the corner of his eye, choosing not to address the elephant in the room. “A bowl of miso ramen, please. What do you like, Obito?”

Obito looked at him strangely, obviously thrown by the change of pace. Not taking his eyes off him, Obito slowly spoke. “A bowl of pork ramen, please. Extra pork slices.”

The old man called the order to the back, ringing them up. Naruto fished the right amount out of his pocket, telling the man to keep the change. Sighing, he turned to Obito. “Look, I’m sorry I freaked you out. It’s been a long day, and I must have imagined something that didn’t actually happen. Sorry for scaring you.”

Naruto decided not to tell Obito about the whole Dad thing, not willing to embarrass him because he had said something while his guard was down. Naruto felt relieved as the hard set of Obito’s shoulders faded, all tension flooding from him. He grinned cheekily at Naruto. “Heh, I knew your mind was going, old man. Don’t worry, I’ll put you in a nice home.”

Naruto hollered in slight offense, the man who took their order letting out a belly laugh. Obito started to giggle with him, making fun of Naruto’s pout. In the middle of the laughter, the old man set two hot bowls in front of both of them, wiping a tear from his eye. Offense forgotten, Naruto gave a quick thanks, and snapped his chopsticks apart. Beside him, Obito did the same. Together, they tucked in, slurping up the noodles as fast as they could. While eating, they idly chatted amongst themselves and with the stand owner.

Within ten minutes, they had both finished their bowls, sighing happily as they drained the last dregs of broth from the bottom. Naruto offered a cheeky grin to the old man, who had said his name was Daizen. “Any chance you’re looking for workers? With food as good as this, I could work here everyday!” Naruto was trying to be funny, but was surprised as Daizen contemplatively scanned him. Unconsciously, Naruto sat up a little straighter, Obito quieting down. Daizen raised an eyebrow. 

“Know anything about cooking, son?”

Naruto answered truthfully, shaking his head. “Not really, but I’m a hard worker. If you’d give me a chance, I’d like to learn from you, Mr. Daizen!”

Daizen waved his hand, crossing his arms. He nodded at Naruto. “Alright kid, you win. Bright and early tomorrow morning you show up here, and bring your kid with you. If he wants, I’m hiring both of you. We need more hands around here.”

Mouth agape, Naruto was speechless for a second. He had not expected to get a job that quickly, especially in wartime. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, both him and Obito sputtered out their thanks, frantically bowing their heads. They backed out of the stand with their heads lowered, paying no mind to the strange looks thrown their way by the passerby.

The second they were out of sight, Obito lunged at Naruto, catching him off guard. The shorter boy wrapped his arms around Naruto’s torso, practically bouncing with excitement. “We have a job! We did it! We can make enough to live here now, isn’t it great?”

Naruto’s mouth moved wordlessly for a second, not knowing how to feel. Eventually, he swung his arm around Obito’s shoulders. 

“Yeah,” he mused. “This is going to be pretty great.”


	9. Chapter 9

Naruto lounged on a colorful bench by the pond, head tilted toward the sky, basking in the warmth of the sun.

It was now mid December, him and Obito having been in the village a little over a month. Daizen, their boss, had taken the first week of working to teach them both how to make ramen from scratch, and it wasn’t long before Naruto had fallen in love with the art. And it was an art, that much was clear. There was just something about the way of making the noodles and carefully mixing the stock; it brought some sort of peace to Naruto. Making a delicious, beautiful bowl of ramen was now one of Naruto’s favorite things to do to calm down. He could never go back to the cup stuff now, having been too spoiled from learning how to make it himself. 

Obito liked it as well, but it was clear he liked preparing the ingredients more, as well as running to pick up more supplies. It hadn’t been long before several of the shop owners had fallen in love with the cheerful boy, oftentimes giving him small gifts whenever they saw him. In their room at the inn they were staying at, Obito had a whole window ledge already filled with bright little baubles and trinkets. Any candy or food Obito received was shared with Naruto by his own volition; it was one of Naruto’s favorite things, to sit side by side with Obito and chat about their days.

The shop was open from six in the morning to six at night, seven days a week. Naruto worked Monday through Saturday, having Sunday off. On Thursdays, he got off at two instead of six. Obito worked from two to six, having Thursdays entirely free, and Sundays as well. Even though he was technically an adult, Naruto had enrolled him in a nearby school, intent on avoiding suspicion. 

Obito had pitched a fit at first, but even he could acknowledge that it would look weird for a young civilian child to not be in school. The school only operated until the ninth year anyway, where the children would be considered grown enough for actual jobs, and would no longer be required to attend. It was a trading town after all, and it was expected for children to help their parents at whichever occupation they had.

Hence the shorter school hours. Obito attended school from eight until half-past one, where he would head over to the ramen shop to start his shift. Despite Naruto reassuring him he didn’t have to, Obito often came for an hour in the morning as well, helping to start prepping before classes.

Naruto had convinced the headmaster at the school that Obito was brilliant for his age, and the man had graciously enrolled Obito in the seventh year classes instead of the sixth. With his academy education, Obito was ahead of the curve in some areas like history and math, but behind in others. The higher level classes would be less boring for him, and at the same time provide a small challenge as well, being in the upper year class. This way, Obito was also around people that were closer to his own age and maturity. From their nightly chats, Naruto knew that Obito had already made several friends at the school, able to form bonds even though he was a ninja, and they weren’t.

It made Naruto happy to hear the shenanigans Obito and his friends got up to on a daily basis. Thankfully, the pranks were never troublesome enough to warrant a letter home, but Naruto wasn’t holding his breath. If Obito was anything like him, Naruto could expect at least one by the time the boy was done with school officially.

Naruto himself had made several acquaintances at work, a few of them even tentative friends. Mamoru Uzumaki was just the same as Naruto Uzumaki, just with a different name. Unlike when he was younger, Naruto no longer had any difficulty making friends. Conversation came easily now, Naruto finding it easy to slip into the flow of it. He never got distracted enough to not do his job, but it was nice to lean his elbows on the counter and chat every once in a while. He’d gotten a couple of invites to go drinking so far, but had turned them down gently. Until he and Obito had a house, Naruto didn’t want to leave the preeteen alone.

As much as Naruto actually liked the inn they’d been staying at, he was more than ready to once again have his own space. He and Obito had been sharing a bed for the last month and a half, and as nice as it could be sometimes, it just wasn’t healthy. They both needed their own space to wind down, and the privacy that came with having separate rooms. Countless times over the past month, Naruto had been kicked awake by cold feet. He didn’t mind the occasional nightmare, those happened to him as well, but the almost night thrashing was getting to him. It appeared that once Obito had enough energy to stop sleeping like the dead, he moved and talked quite a lot. Naruto was aware that he did the same, but Obito never let him sink deep enough into sleep for it to happen. Naruto hadn’t mentioned anything to him though, not wanting to fault him for something he did while unconscious. Instead, in the dead of night, Naruto had taken to circling houses for rent in the newspaper. 

Today, he had asked Daizen if he could leave early, and had finally gone to look at one.

The house was right alongside the bay, roughly fifty yards from where the sand started. It was situated on a small slope, the house built into the hill itself. A set of stone stairs were set into the ground in front of it, parallel to the house itself. To the right of the house, there was a small stable built into underneath it, and a paved area meant for a cart. Naruto knew there weren’t cars in this time, and even in the future those were pretty rare, so it only left the cart explanation. Beside the stable, there was a door that could be raised and lowered, leading to a storage area and laundry room, with a small door in the back leading into the basement. The house itself was a warm yellow, with wide bay windows set in the front of it. A screened porch was attached to the back of the house, providing an amazing view of the bay. It led into an open deck, with a set of stairs leading down into the small yard. On the edges of the yard, there were several garden boxes, a small shed sitting perpendicular to them.

Even the outside of the house was enough for Naruto to fall in love with it, but the inside had really sealed the deal for him.

When you walked through the front door, a set up stairs led directly to the second level. To the right was the living room, the wide entryway to the kitchen set to the left. In front of the bay windows was a small window ledge, just big enough to comfortably sit and look out at the bustling town. In the wall dividing the living room and dining, there was a wide window of space, a small counter put into place. It opened up the living room into the dining room, which was integrated into the kitchen itself. The kitchen was decently big, with a window looking over the back yard, and sliding glass door into the screen porch. Naruto could see himself learning to cook in this kitchen.

Past the stairs and to the left was a short hallway containing four doors. The two on the right were a bedroom and a bathroom, and the two on the left were the entrance to the basement and another bedroom. Down the basement steps and to the left was a door leading to the storage area/laundry room. The actual basement was small but finished, clearly meant as a play room or an entertainment area. Up both flights of stairs, on the second level, were another two bedrooms, with a bathroom in the middle. Each room in the house had at least two windows, bringing natural light into the home. There was a fireplace in the living room, allowing for heat in the house for winter. In the summer, the breeze off the bay would keep them cool.

Naruto was in love with this house, even though it was bigger than they needed. Naruto was sure he could find a cheaper, smaller house, but he really had his heart set on this one. The realtor had told him the house was his if he put a payment down in the next three days, otherwise they couldn’t promise anything. Due to its location by the bay and the risk for flooding and storms, the house was actually cheaper than a house of that quality should have been. Nevertheless, that didn’t mean the price each month wasn’t something to sniff at. Naruto and Obito could definitely afford it, but Naruto would have to keep the schedule he had now. And, as a bonus, the house was Rent to Own. If they decide on it, Naruto would own the house in three years.

The house was the reason Naruto had decided to come to the frozen pond, the bank he’d been cashing his paycheck in relatively closeby to it. He had dropped a notice at Obito’s school for the boy to come right here after school, instead of work. Naruto was so eager to show Obito the house that he couldn’t wait until after work. He was watching people ice-skate to pass the time by, as it was a good way to occupy himself. Plus, there was a town clock right by the entrance gate, and Naruto could watch it for the time Obito would probably get there. It was currently 1:40, and Naruto knew Obito should be showing up shortly.

Turning his attention to a mother and child skating together, Naruto looked them over casually. In the month and a half they’d been in the village, Obito hadn’t called him Dad again. Naruto didn’t expect the slight twang of disappointment he felt at that, but hurriedly suppressed it anyway. He was nineteen, he wasn’t supposed to be a Dad yet. Besides, Naruto was only seven years older than Obito. There didn’t seem to be enough of an age difference for that sort of thing anyway. If anything, Naruto should be a big brother, not a father.

Even though he knew all this, Naruto hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Obito’s sleepy voice, calling him ‘Dad’. Naruto tried to deny it, but there was a tiny part of him that felt warm at the affectionate title. Naruto had always wanted a family, he just didn’t think he’d have one until he was older. As much as it bugged him at first, the thought had grown on him. If Obito ever did decide to call him Dad again, Naruto wasn’t sure he could put a stop to it.

Cackling laughter filled his head, turning his wistful expression into a frown. ‘You’re so gone on that kid it’s not even funny,’ Kurama laughed, taunting him. The fox had woken up a week after they’d gotten to Kitahama, scaring the shit out of Naruto in the shower. He’d snapped his forearm when he’d fallen over, Kurama taking two hours to heal it because he was laughing so hard. That had been a trial to hide from Obito.

‘Shut up,’ Naruto mentally grumbled back. ‘Those are supposed to be private thoughts.’

Kurama cackled a little louder this time. ‘Brat, you haven’t had a private thought since you were a teenager. I’ve been there every time you had a ‘private moment’, and I’ll be there for the rest of them.’

Naruto felt his face flame in the physical world, frown deepening to a scowl. He turned the scowl to his stomach. ‘God, don’t you have any shame? You’re not supposed to tell people that!’

Kurama’s cackles died down, the fox sending him a mental shrug. ‘What’s it matter to me? Bijus don’t get aroused, we’re chakra beings. Doesn’t matter to me what you do in your spare time, I’m not judging.’

Naruto, ready to continue the argument, was brought back to reality when two fingers poked his forehead. Startled, but not threatened, he looked up and made eye contact with Obito. The preteen grinned down at him, pulling his scarf down enough for Naruto to see his mouth. “Thinking hard about something? I can help, if you want?”

“Yeah?” Naruto asked, curious despite himself. “How are you going to do that?”

“Simple,” Obito shrugged, plonking a gloved hand on Naruto’s head. Obito looked him in the eye solemnly. “Two plus two equals four.” The solemn looks cracked, a shit eating grin bleeding through. Obito roughly messed up Naruto’s hair, laughing. He laughed even as Naruto grabbed him into a headlock, leaping off the bench to do it. Naruto gave him a noogie.

-0-0-0-

Trailing behind Naruto, having been released from his headlock, Obito chattered idly. Naruto had refused to tell Obito where they were going, wanting it to be a surprise. Obito had taken it in stride, choosing to occupy himself by talking about his day. Him and one of his new friends, Shou, had tricked a bully into kicking a brick wall. Naruto wasn’t sure how, he was too excited to pay much attention, but it had something to do with a soccer ball and a plastic bag full of lotion? Naruto didn’t want to know what the hell they did with that combo, thanks.

Turning onto the street where the house was, Naruto felt his pace pick up in eagerness. Having snagged the keys from the realtor, Naruto jingled them anxiously in his pocket. He really had his heart set on this house, and could only hope Obito liked it as much as Naruto did. The holidays were only a few short weeks away, and Naruto really wanted a home to be in for that time. 

Catching sight of the house, Naruto spun around to face Obito. He ignored how Obito startled, focused on walking backwards up the slight slope. “Okay, so I know we didn’t really talk about this, but I figured you wouldn’t really care if I went by myself? I didn’t mean to leave you out of the loop, I just wanted to surprise you, but if you don’t like it you have to say so. You have the final say in this, this is a bigger deal for you than for me, but I just want to say-.”

“Naruto!” Obito shouted, exasperated. “What are you talking about?”

Naruto stopped in front of the house, still facing Obito. He thrusted the keys in the preteens direction, the metal dangling from a small cloth strap. “I got us a house!” He blurted. Naruto gestured to his left, not taking his eyes off Obito. “I mean, I haven’t got it yet, but it’s ours if we want it. It’s okay if you don’t like it, but just give it a chance, okay?”

Obito didn’t say anything, instead staring with wide eyes at the house. The yellow color glowed warmly in the afternoon sun, making the house look gorgeous and bright. Naruto could only imagine the color it would turn at sunset, most likely his favorite shade of orange. He really hoped he could get to see it. Obito continued to stay quiet, not looking away as he reached out and gently took the keys from Naruto’s hand. 

Naruto followed quietly behind him as he made his way through the grass to the front door, bypassing the steps entirely. Obito got the right key on the first try, jiggling it a bit until it opened. Naruto took up a quiet station by the door, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets. He watched as Obito first wandered upstairs, looking in the three rooms, paying closer attention to the one on the left. His face was unreadable as he came back down, right hand trailing down the wall. Obito gave the living room a quick once over, running his hand across the window seat. He made his way around the room, fingers skimming the wall, seamlessly transitioning to skim the wall-window counter.

Obito disappeared into the kitchen, pulling open the pantry and the cupboards on the wall, disappearing for a moment as he stepped out of Naruto’s line of sight. He reappeared in the wall-window, tugging open the sliding glass door. Naruto heard the quiet bang of the screen porch as he made his way onto the deck, the loud clops of his feet leading down the back steps.

Naruto listened as the storage door opened, Obito closing it behind him. The basement door opened, Obito taking a minute down there before making his way to the steps. Naruto couldn’t see him as he opened up the hallway door, the door too far back for Obito to be seen from behind the wall. Naruto waited patiently as he heard another three doors open and close, quiet shuffling sounds giving away Obito’s curiosity. It wasn’t long before the last door closed, and then Obito’s quiet footsteps echoed in the hall. His bushy black hair appeared from around the corner, eye finding Naruto quickly. His expression was still blank.

Naruto felt a little concern as Obito walked over to him, mixed with disappointment. It was obvious from Obito’s face that he didn’t like the house. It must have been too big, too showy for Obito, who grew up in a simple clan house. Hell, the house was showy to Naruto, and he grew up in a decent apartment complex. Naruto opened his mouth, intent on making sure Obito knew it’s okay he didn’t like the house. The kid was in arm’s reach now, and Naruto fully expected him to stop and look up at Naruto.

That’s why it was such a surprise when Obito’s forehead thudded down on his shoulder.

Naruto froze, closing his mouth slowly. His arms hung limply by his side as Obito’s arms slid around his waist, thoroughly confused by the strange turn of events. It took him a second for him to slowly hug Obito back, one hand going to Obito’s upper back, the other around his waist. It wasn’t long before Obito mumbled something against his shoulder. Fearing the worst, Naruto asked, “What’s up, bud?”

Obito leaned back a little, not looking up yet. “This is ours? It’s actually ours?” Obito’s hand came up and covered his eyes, the other one clenching tighter on that back of Naruto’s shirt. Naruto watched his lips tremble, teeth bared from the struggle to keep them still. It had been over a month since Naruto had seen Obito cry last, the last time being from a particularly vicious nightmare that left him sobbing for hours. Naruto hadn’t even been able to hold him, Obito was so stressed.

“This is our home?”

Obito’s voice cracked harshly on the last word, and Naruto exhaled sharply through his nose. Obito didn’t hate the house after all. He was just overwhelmed. Naruto let out a wet laugh, a hand of his own coming to rub at his eyes. His other hand pulled Obito’s away from his eyes, dropping onto his haunches to make eye contact. He didn’t drop Obito’s wrist after he took it, moving it gently up to Naruto’s shoulder. It took a minute for Obito to look at him, sharingan activated in face of such strong emotion. Naruto wasn’t bothered by the red, smiling wobbly up at Obito. 

“Yeah,” he murmured. “Yeah, if you want it, it’s all ours.”

Obito nodded frantically, scrubbing at his face with his free hand. “Yeah,” he gasped. “Yes, I want it. I r-really, really want it. I want to live here, and t-train here, and have my friends over here. I want this to be our home, Naruto. Please, I want to stay h-here.” Obito stared wildly at him, hand gripping tight to Naruto’s shoulder, voice cracking several times as he spoke quickly. 

Naruto allowed a beaming smile to steal across his face, hope and elation filling his chest in equal measure. “You’re positive?”

“I’ve never been more sure about something in my whole life.” 

Naruto whooped happily, lunging up and swinging Obito up. The tears disappeared as Obito shrieked in shock, Naruto dancing them around the living room. Naruto spun them so hard Obito's feet came off the ground, the younger boy hollering to be put down, but laughing the whole time.

Naruto couldn't wait to go see the realtor.

-0-0-0-

Naruto stopped by the realtors office after work the next day, the downpayment sealed into a bulging manilla folder. It was a Thursday, and Naruto had gotten out early. It didn't take long before Naruto was signing the lease on the house, Mamoru Uzumaki looking foreign in his handwriting. It would still take getting used to, signing that name, but Naruto couldn't afford to slip up. They needed to stay under the radar still, and Naruto calling himself by a different name was not the way to do it.

Obito waited impatiently outside of the office, bouncing on the tips of his toes. He was receiving a mixture of fond and annoyed looks from passerby, but was never outright spoken to about it, from what Naruto could tell. Naruto waved to catch his attention, earning a bright smile for his efforts. He casually tossed the keys at Obito, the other ninja catching them easily, almost dropping them once he realized what they were. Naruto laughed, throwing an arm over Obito's shoulder.

There was enough daylight and money left for Naruto and Obito to shop for furniture. They didn't have terribly much in savings left, but it was enough for the bare minimum. They were able to afford two beds, two dressers, toiletries, and a small table and chairs set for the dining room. Naruto picked up a yellow comforter set for his bed as well, Obito choosing a bright red color for himself. Everything else could wait until the next paycheck, which was in four days. For a small fee, the owner of the shop agreed to deliver everything that night, meaning they could spend the night in the house. Obito was practically dancing in place, he was so excited to go pack up his things.

Naruto sent him to the inn by himself, letting him keep the keys. Naruto wanted to go pick up a few things like food, towels, toiletries, and utensils for the kitchen. Naruto didn't want to leave Obito alone for too long, sweeping through the isles as quickly as feasible.

On his way back home, Naruto swung his bag slightly, idly making his way down a side street. Not watching his step, Naruto jumped sky high when something soft screeched beneath his foot. It took all of his willpower not to hurl his bag down the alley, dancing backward with a shriek of his own. Hand against his chest, on top of a dumpster, Naruto looked over the edge.

The ugly cat from the first day glared up at him, fire and brimstone in it's eyes. Naruto let his own eyes bleed red with a hint of Kurama's chakra, hoping to scare the damn thing off. It looked thoroughly unimpressed. Not even killing intent could scare it off, all it did was sit on it's ass and start licking its balls. Naruto hated it.

Naruto hopped off the dumpster, stepping carefully around the cat. He made it all of five feet before he felt a pressure against his ankles, almost making him trip. Glowering, he looked down into the smushed face of the cat. The girth of it made Naruto widen his step: it must have been 25 pounds, if not fatter. Locked in a staring contest, Naruto backed farther down the alley, matching the cat step for step. 

"Shoo, fugly, shoo." Naruto shook the bag at it, but it kept advancing on him, herding him farther down the alley.

It wasn't until they were almost the end of the alley that they came to a standstill, eyeing each other. The cat sat back on it's haunches, eyeing him. It opened it's grubby little mouth.

"Mow."

"What the fuck?" It burst out of Naruto's mouth before he could stop it, vaguely hearing Kurama echo it in the back of his head. That wasn't a normal fucking meow, not at all. It was deep and grovely and it gave Naruto gross shivers. This cat was the weirdest fucking cat Naruto had ever met, and he'd met plenty.

The cat started advancing on him again, huffing coming from it's fat mouth at all the exercise. "Mow mow mow mow moooowwwww," came with every wet huff.

Naruto scurried back, holding the bag out like a shield. Here he was, the Savior of the Nations, freaked out by an ugly cat. Desperate to get away from it, Naruto tripped over his own foot, smacking harshly into the ground. Hitting his head against the cement with a sharp 'clack', Naruto had to close his eyes for a second to fight back the nausea of a brand new concussion.

Dazed, Naruto failed to notice the pressure of small feet climbing up his body, until eventually there was a heavy weight on his chest. There was a rotten smell filling his nose, warm puffs of horrible smelling hair breezing over his face. Wheezing, Naruto coughed, feeling his lungs constrict from both the smell and the weight.

Apprehensively, Naruto slowly cracked open his eyes, terrified. The cat's ugly face stared back at him, dead eyes looking into his own. Slowly, almost hauntingly, it opened its disgusting little jaws.

"Mracckkk." It hacked up a hairball straight onto Naruto's neck, the sticky slide of it chilling Naruto to his core.

Naruto screamed. Kurama screamed. Fugly hacked up another hairball.

-0-0-0-

Obito hustled to the door as he came in, looking equal parts furious and worried. "What the hell," he hissed. "Where were you? You were supposed to be back hours ago!"

Naruto looked at him balefully, dropping two of his bags to the floor. The third, he left on his opposite shoulder. He let one of the straps fall down to his elbow, reaching into it with both hands. He stepped closer to Obito.

"Here," he drawled. "I got you a present. Hold out your hands."

Obito, anger forgotten, held out his arms tentatively. He cocked his head at Naruto. "What did you get me?"

Naruto dropped Fugly into Obito's arms, the boy staggering under her weight. Naruto watched, detached, as the cat sunk all sixteen of her claws into the front of Obito's shirt. Naruto had given in, and taken the damn thing to the vet. Collared, washed, and groomed, Fugly looked like a pile of shit with a bunch of flowers on top. That's to say, still just as ugly, but now with a little bit of glam.

Naruto got a vicious sense of satisfaction, watching Obito freeze when the cat latched on to him. Brushing past, he grabbed the bag with the towels in it, making his way into the downstairs bathroom, desperately needing a showing.

"Naruto," Obito whispered harshly, sounding panicked. "Naruto I don't want it, take it back."

Naruto didn't say anything, cranking up the hot water of the shower, door open to ventilate it. He started stripping, looking at Obito from the corner of his eye. He could somehow sense Kurama looking with him.

"NaruTO!" Obito's voice got higher on the last syllable, Fugly scooting higher up his chest. Naruto could see her studying Obito's face, looking for something neither of them knew. Apparently having found it, Fugly butted her ugly head up under Obito's chin. 

"Mrroooww," she purred deeply, ass wiggling on Obito's chest. Obito made a noise like he was dying inside, whipping around to face the bathroom door. He reached out his hand.

"NARUTO!"

Naruto gently shut the door to Obito's screams, he and Kurama sending up a quick prayer in his honor. His sacrifice would not be in vain.

  
  
  
  
  



	10. Chapter 10

It was now Sunday December 17th, three days after moving with Naruto into their new house.

Obito had taken the room upstairs, the one to the left. It was painted grey, with a blue accent wall, and dainty blue curtains. Obito adored the homey feeling it gave off, the way it made him feel safe and at peace. It didn’t even bother him that Fugly decided she loved his room too, because he could actually understand where she was coming from. 

There was something about laying spread eagle on his soft, white carpet that made him instantly sleepy. It put him in such a good mood he’d even played with Fugly, dragging on old sock around the floor for her to chase. She’d already ripped two of them to shreds, to Naruto’s dismay. She’d drag them across the hallway to his room, leaving the remains all over his carpet.

Obito never could have imagined how incredible it felt to wake up to a warm, caring presence waiting for him in the kitchen, breakfast already made. Naruto had started learning to cook the morning after moving in, and could already make a decent plate of eggs and toast. Obito had been amused at how proud of himself he’d been, Obito showering him with praise. It made Obito happy when Naruto was happy.

Fugly had taken to lurking menacingly in the kitchen, prowling underneath the table for any fallen scraps. A few times she had gone after Naruto's toes under the table, filling the house with pained hollering. In the few days they'd had her, Fugly had decided she was the matriarch of the household. Naruto would let her out in the mornings before they left, and she could often be seen patrolling the perimeter of the property before jaunting away, inevitably coming back with something dead for Naruto to clean up. All the local strays were terrified of her, and Obito couldn't help but find it hilarious.

Obito had stuffed his wallet with spare cash early that morning, knowing it would be replenished the next day. Letting Fugly out the back door, he peeked behind himself, listening for Naruto. He had given Naruto a half truth the night before, claiming he was going to hang out with his friends in the morning, promising to be back by noon. He said he would bring Shou back to meet Naruto.

Granted, he was meeting up with a friend, but not a bunch of them. And they weren't just hanging out; they were on a mission. A very important, critical mission.

The objectives? Get Naruto Christmas presents. 

Obito had determined there was absolutely no room for failure, refusing to get something half-assed like candy. Not experienced with buying gifts for people, Obito had recruited Shou to the cause with a promise of breakfast. The older boy, huskier than Obito, had readily agreed.

Hustling up to the market, Obito pulled his scarf down, the blue color soothing his nerves. Naruto had let him choose the scarf himself in Waterfall, and Obito had chosen the softest one. It was great to hide his face in, his own warm air thawing out his frozen cheeks.

Casting a look around the bustling morning market, Obito spotted Shou lounging by a food stall, the sign advertising red bean buns for cheap. Obito waved a hand in greeting, catching Shou’s attention. “Hey,” he called. “Good morning!”

“Morning, Kai,” Shou greeted lazily. The other boy yawned, placing his hand over his mouth. “Is it cool if we get red bean buns for breakfast?”

“Yeah,” Obito agreed, fishing out his wallet. He handed Shou some of his money. “Get one for me, and however many you want. I’m going to that shop over there.” Obito pointed behind himself at a clothing store, Shou grunting in agreement.

Turning on his heel, Obito darted eagerly through the crowd, popping up in front of the vendor. He gave the woman a bright grin, stepping up to the counter. “Do you happen to have anything in orange?”

The woman hummed contemplatively, turning away from Obito, shuffling into the back room. “Let me go check,” she called over her shoulder.

He bounced on the balls of his feet, hands clasped behind his back. Obito knew Naruto’s favorite color could be hard to find, but if Obito looked in the right places, he knew it would pop up somewhere. Obito didn’t have much money, so he had to make every gift count. 

Obito had never really celebrated Christmas before, his family not believing in the practice. Christmas Eve was the time for family, admiring decorations, and gift giving. Christmas Day was the time for couples and friends. The Uchiha didn’t much value the gift giving or decoration admiring, and Obito only had his grandmother for true family. Obito didn’t have many friends either, and certainly not a significant other. For him, Christmas had been a lonely time, only broken up by Rin stopping by to exchange small gifts.

Banishing the thought of his teammate, Obito stepped over to the side, looking around the racks of clothing while the woman hunted for something orange. Something pink and fluffy hung up on the wall caught his eye, and he couldn’t help but double back to stare at it. It was a hat, with a poofy pom-pom on top, and two tassels on the side of it. There were two more poms dangling from the tassels, looking both ridiculous and fitting for the hat. The wool looked like it would be soft to the touch, pleasant against Obito's fingers.

Obito abruptly realized he wanted it.

He didn’t know why he wanted such a girly looking hat, but he did. It looked kind of really pretty, the lighter pink of the actual hat contracting nicely with the darker pink of the pom-poms. Obito knew instinctively that it would look shocking against his head of dark hair, catching the eye of passerby. People would surely think it’d look cute on him, Obito was self confident enough to realize that.

He flushed at the thought, shame flooding in. Obito wasn’t supposed to look cute, he was a boy. Sure, he was allowed to look handsome, but not cute. Cute was for beautiful girls, not gross, scarred boys. Cousin Tanaka would be laughing up a storm if he knew Obito was thinking such gross thoughts. Obito hated giving Tanaka reasons to laugh at him, and thinking like a girl would be a prime reason. Obito wasn’t gay, he shouldn’t be doing that. That was disgusting; he was being disgusting.

Something impacted solidly with his shoulder, sending him stumbling forward. A hand tugging on the back of Obito’s scarf kept him upright, blunt nails accidently scratching his back. It took all of Obito’s self restraint to not start swinging, instead glaring over his shoulder, barely keeping his sharingan in check. What the hell, who’d pushed him?

It was only Shou.

“Sorry dude,” he raised his hands in surrender, one holding a wrapped bun. “A rack tripped me up, didn’t mean to knock into you like that.” He offered Obito the bun. “Breakfast?”

Obito snatched it from his grip, huffing. He tore into it quickly, suddenly starving. He spoke awkwardly around a mouthful. “What took you so long?” It came out garbled, but legible.

Shou shrugged, finishing off the last of his remaining bun in one bite. He swallowed. “The line was long, it took a while for our order. Find anything for your dad yet?”

Obito shook his head, balling up the red bean wrapper. He stuffed it into his pocket, planning to throw it away at home. “I asked the lady if she had something in his favorite color, but she’s still looking. He likes orange, so sometimes it’s hard to find stuff for him clothing wise. It’s why I stopped here first.”

As if summoned, the woman bustled out of the back room, holding an opaque plastic bag. She offered it to Obito over the counter. “This is probably the best you’re going to get son, everything else is too tacky to be a Christmas present.”

Obito thanked her, grabbing the bag by the handles. He pulled out the cloth inside.

Holding it up, Obito inspected it closely. It was a striped knit sweater, the colors bouncing from a bright, happy orange to a lighter, mellower shade. Stroking a hand down the front, Obito quickly found it was soft to the touch, the material feeling nice under his hand. Immediately, Obito knew Naruto would love it.

“How much?” He asked, reaching for his wallet.

The shopkeeper waved her hand, the other one on her hip. “Hon, that’s been in my backroom for years. Nobody else had even expressed interest in it besides you. It’s all yours.”

Obito stared for a second, stunned. The look in the woman’s eye told Obito not to challenge her on this, Obito sensing a losing battle when he saw one. Gratefully, he bowed at the waist, holding the sweater to his chest. “Thank you very much for your generosity. This means a lot.”

Obito straightened to her kind smile and shooing hands. “It’s no problem, no problem at all. Now get, go find some more stuff for whoever that sweater’s for. Both of you have a very Merry Christmas now, okay?”

Obito tucked the sweater back into the bag, backing out with Shou. He bid the woman a Merry Christmas in return, thanking her one more time. Stumbling into the bright market street, Obito turned to Shou. “Holy hell, is everybody around here always that nice?”

Shou nodded solemnly, putting his hands in the front pocket of his hoodie. “Yeah, pretty much. Not many people stay here permanently, so the ones that do are recognized more. It means you get treated nicer for being a local, and not a shitty tourist.”

He gestured a hand at the rest of the market. “We appreciate their business, and a lot of them are nice, but some of them can be right assholes sometimes. They think because we don’t have many ninja out this way it means we’re weak, so they try to walk all over us. Favorite part of my job is giving pricks like that the boot outta my Pop’s store. Best part of my day, really.”

Obito nodded, thoughtful. Honestly, it made sense. Obito had run into plenty of cheapskates at the ramen stall, trying to swindle Daizen or Naruto into extra free toppings. It wasn’t that uncommon, even in the colder winter months, when traveling to Kitahama was considerably harder.

Obito let Shou lead the way this time, trusting the other boy's experience with gift giving more than he trusted his own. Shou slowed to a stop in front of an electronics store, obviously looking for something through the window. Finding it, he tugged Obito to the door by his scarf, the younger boy letting him without protest. 

The jangle of the bell alerterted the counter clerk, who called out a cheerful greeting. Echoing him, Shou and Obito made their way over to a back wall. Shou slapped his hand down on a record player, a stack of records placed beside it. “You should definitely get your dad one of these. I know there are radios now and everything, but you’re a little strapped for cash here, no offense. Do you know if he likes music?”

Obito slowly nodded, becoming endeared to the idea. “Yeah, he sings when he cooks. I don’t think he notices though, so I don’t say anything.” Obito gave Shou a bewildered look, disgruntled expression on his face.

“Hey, why do you keep calling him my dad? I call him Mamoru if front of you, don’t I?”

Shou shrugged, fiddling with the record player. “You’ve called him Dad a few times when you’re not paying attention,” Shou says, bluntly. “Besides, he kind of is your dad, right? I mean he’s raising you, and feeding you and everything.” 

He poked at Obito’s jacket, meeting his eye. “He bought you those clothes too, didn’t he? Got you that ugly cat, bought a house for you, spends time with you. Hate to break it to you Kai, but he’s definitely your dad.”

Obito looked down at his shoes, kicking his foot. “But I already had a dad, and he died. Wouldn’t I be doing something wrong by calling someone else dad instead? Mamoru isn’t even that much older than me, anyway. He couldn’t even be my dad, physically.”

Shou plopped a hand on his shoulder, making easy eye contact. An understanding smile was on his face, putting Obito at ease. “Hey, the way I see it, a dad is a dad. Doesn’t matter how much older he is than you, so long as you can rely on him and trust him. And if your father was a good one, he’d want you to be happy, even if it meant calling someone else your dad. And if he didn’t want something that would make you happy? Then you’d be better off without a dad like that anyway.”

Obito had to concede that Shou had some good points, even if it rankled. Maybe he’d put some more thought into it. Maybe Naruto wouldn’t even want Obito to call him Dad, but Obito honestly couldn’t believe that. If it made Obito happy, Naruto would let Obito call him whatever he wanted. The question is, would Naruto actually like to be called Dad? Not just for Obito's sake, but because he liked the title?

Obito didn’t know, he’d just have to go for it and see what happened. He knew he wouldn't be rejected too harshly if Naruto didn't like it, but it didn't keep him from being apprehensive about the prospect of it. Shou’s hand on his shoulder kept him grounded, kept him from slipping into doubts.

Suddenly extremely thankful to have a best friend like Shou, he grabbed Shou’s wrist on his shoulder and pulled it off. Obito pulled his hand into a firm handshake. “Shou,” he said seriously. “You are the bestest friend a man could ask for, I mean it. I love you, buddy.”

Shou’s face flushed, the usually stoic buy unusually flustered. He yanked his hand from Obito’s enthusiastic grip, fanning his face. “God,” he moaned. “You’re so fucking weird, stop it. You’re making me blush. Best friends don’t do this to other best friends.”

Obito put his hands on his hips, throwing his head back imperiously. “According to the best friend code, it is my sworn duty to embarass you whenever possible, in any way possible. So mote it be.” Obito had to fight to keep the stern expression on his face, lips puckering from holding back his laughter. 

God, he loved life here. He could never afford to act this silly in the village without some sort of scolding, but everyone here took it in stride. Naruto, his friends at school, Daizen. They let him be the kid he actually was, even though he was two years older than his ID. He was still a kid.

Shou clapped his hands together, blush dying down. He fixed his face into a straight expression, corner of his lip twitching. “My apologies, best friend Kai. May I be forgiven for my indiscretions?”

Obito dropped the act with a little laugh, eyeing the stacks upon stacks of records. “Yeah, but only if you help me pick out some music. I’m fucking clueless.”

“Deal.”

-0-0-0-

Obito stumbled up the street to his house, he and Shou carrying several bags. They’d made a few more stops along the way, until Obito’s wallet was bled dry. Obito had picked up several more presents for various people, not just Naruto. A nice incense holder for Daizen, a pack of catnip mice for Fugly, and he had snuck away for the latest game for Shou’s console at home.

For Naruto, he’d also grabbed a nice bottle of cologne, a box of rare spices for his new cooking hobby, and a polaroid camera. The camera and record player had zapped the most of Obito’s money, the game coming a close second. Obito had barely been able to find something affordable for Daizen and Fugly, but he’d managed.

Shou had grabbed several things as well, not letting Obito see the one he’d gotten for him. Curiously, there was a square shaped box shoved into Obito’s bags as well, most likely Shou’s. Obito would have to remember to give it to him before he left.

Creeping up to the front door, Obito slowly opened it, peeking his head in cautiously. Signaling the coast was clear, Shou slowly slid in behind him, taking a curious look around. The house was still pretty bare, their paychecks not coming in until tomorrow. Naruto had said that they could go to the furniture shop after work, the place being open until eight because of late workers. 

Obito had full plans to swindle Naruto into buying a television.

Shou hadn’t met Naruto yet, his house being in the opposite direction from the ramen shop. Otherwise, Shou definitely would have walked home with him. He had already heard a lot about him from Obito though, so he had a pretty positive impression of him so far. 

Obito pointed up the stairs, kicking his shoes off in the entryway, Shou doing the same. The brown haired boy followed close behind Obito, taking the same steps Obito took, avoiding any creaking noises. Obito was sure they looked like nutjobs, walking frog-legged up the steps like a couple of morons. Obito snorted at the thought, freezing when Shou let out a quiet wheeze of restrained laughter. 

His best friend was on the same wavelength.

Most of the time, that would be a good thing, but not when they were trying to be quiet. Obito picked up the pace up the steps, repressing hysterical giggles at the increase in speed. Shou was making odd choking noises behind him, strangled little huffs leaving his mouth. They were both wheezing like asthmatics, desperately scuttling to Obito’s room. Obito could feel tears of mirth building, halfway to hysterical.

He and Shou gave up on being quiet, barging into his room. Obito fell onto his hands and knees the second he was through the door, sobbing with stupid laughter. He watched from between his legs as Shou slammed the door shut behind him, falling against it. He was cackling like crazy, dropping the bags to slap his hands over his face.

“We’re. So. STUPID,” Shou howled out, peeking between his fingers at Obito. Obito flipped onto his back, spreading out like a starfish. It took a minute for the chuckles to die down.

“Hey man, speak for yourself,” Obito snorted.

Just then, a knock came at the door. “You two alive in there?” Naruto called through, sounding amused.

“Yeah,” Obito called. “We’ll be out in a minute, Mamoru!”

Naruto rapped his knuckles against the door twice in acknowledgment, footsteps disappearing down the stairs. Obito sat up, grabbing his bags from Shou, the older boy willingly handing them over. 

He was shoving them into the back of his closet when he remembered the mysterious box in one of his bags, taking a second to root for it. Tossing it in the air a bit, Obito turned to Shou. Shou was currently sitting in front of his window sill, carefully looking through his hoard of small gifts. He was poking at a small bowl of marbles, studying the colors.

“Hey,” Obito called. “Is this yours?”

Shou looked over, noticing the box. He braced his hand on his knee, standing up. He shoved his hands in his pockets and smirked, thrusting his chin at the box. “I got it in your stead, buddy. Call it a favor.”

Obito gave him a look, not trusting him. It was probably something gross or weird. He peeled at the tape on the edge of the box, taking care no to rip it. Pulling out a bundle of tissue paper, Obito dragged out the hard object inside. 

It was an orange mug, with a picture of Obito’s face plastered on it. To be precise, it was his school ID picture, wide eyed and dopey looking. In dark print across the top was ‘Number One’ and on the bottom was ‘DAD’. Obito barely managed not to drop it.

Gobsmacked, he looked at Shou. “When the hell did you find time to do this? We weren’t even apart for five minutes today!”

Shou grinned, looking proud of himself. “Buddy, I’ve had this shit planned since last week. It was just ready to be picked up today.” He stuck a finger up to the side of his nose, winking. “Best friend code, pal. But no though, seriously, you need to give him that at Christmas. If you don’t take a picture of his face I’m disowning you.”

“Not if I disown you first,” Obito hissed, waving the mug by the handle.

Shou made a funny face at him, striding to the door. Putting the mug into his closet with the other presents, Obito followed close behind. He couldn’t wait to see this. He and Naruto had talked about Shou coming over the night before, the older man eager to meet him. It hadn't been long before Obito had unearthed Naruto's prankster side, hidden until then.

Did Shou really think Obito would invite him over without asking Naruto to mess with him? 

By the time he’d gotten downstairs, Naruto and Shou were making fast friends with each other. Obito clattered down the steps, watching over the railing as Shou offered Naruto his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Uzumaki.”

Naruto brushed past the hand, drawing Shou into an enthusiastic embrace. Shou’s face was squished up against Naruto’s chest, looking at Obito from the corner of his eye, pleading with Obito to help him. He looked weirded out, obviously not expecting this strange turn of events. Obito grinned in retribution, soothed by Shou’s obvious discomfort. 

Naruto dropped Shou back down onto his feet, grabbing his shoulders as he staggered back. He shook them empathetically, grinning so hard his eyes scrunched up. “Call me Mamoru! Mr. Uzumaki was my mother! Let’s get you a drink pal, you look pretty thirsty!”

Shou looked lost as Naruto clapped him one more time, moving back into the kitchen. Obito caught Shou mouthing ‘mother’, looking disturbed. Obito hid his grin with a cough, stepping neatly around Shou’s still form, nudging him to follow.

Naruto had already gotten out a picture of water, reaching up to the cabinet for a glass. He slid up beside Naruto at the kitchen counter, watching Shou take a seat at the table. Obito subtly held his fist out, Naruto bumping them together, continuing to pour Shou a drink.

Obito sat the drink gently in front of Shou, keeping his face relaxed and friendly. He acted unaware of the weird look Shou gave him, trying his best not to give the game away. Naruto slid into the seat at the head of the table, scooting the chair back a little. Obito, as casually as possible, sat himself on Naruto’s knee.

Shou looked like he was going to have an aneurism, trying to hide it behind a polite facade. Obito could barely keep from squirming, waiting for the grand finale. The big event. The main attraction. He didn’t know what it was, but he could sense Naruto had something good coming.

Naruto propped his face up on one fist, the other arm going around Obito’s waist, taking care to make sure Shou noticed. He waited patiently as Shou uncomfortably shifted, clearing his throat, before finally reaching for the glass of water. He barely got one sip in before Naruto struck.

“Now, what makes you good enough for my baby?”

Shou choked, hacking the water back into the glass. Coughing furiously, he pounded a fist on his chest, face turning red. He made a gasping, warbling noise. He turned angry eyes to Obito, who was laughing so hard he was crying. 

“Oh you asshole,” he rasped. “You planned this?”

Obito nodded, wiping away a tear. Naruto shoved him gently off his lap, chuckling himself. He offered a hand across the table, looking a lot less manic than before. “Sorry, he roped me into this when he found out you could come over today. I promise, I’m not actually that weird.”

Shou cleared his throat a couple of more times, returning Naruto’s handshake. “No problem, to be honest it was kind of funny.”

“Your face was hilarious,” Obito piped up, scooting into a seat of his own. “I’m going to remember it for the rest of my life.”

Shou mugged across the table at him, leaning back and cooly crossing his arms. “Your’s is so ugly, I don’t want to remember it at all.”

Obito, faking offense at the juvenile insult, slapped his hands onto the table. He leaned over it. “You take that back!” 

Shou also slapped his hands on the table, leaning over to meet Obito. They fake glared at each other, completely prepared to launch over the furniture between them, adult presence forgotten.

“Make me.”

Obito made to lunge over the table, intent on proving his dominance. His ass had barely come off the seat before Naruto grabbed him by the scruff, yanking him back down. Obito leaned his head back, looking at Naruto upside down. He grinned, unrepentant. He was a teenage boy, they were wild and reckless. It should be no surprise that Obito was ready to lunge over a table. 

Naruto, coming to the same conclusion, sighed. He let go of Obito’s scarf, placing a hand on top of Obito’s head and ruffling his hair. He ignored Obito’s complaints and turned his attention to Shou, who looked embarrassed. Obito hadn’t cared Naruto was there, but it was obvious Shou had forgotten.

“So,” Naruto chirped cheerfully. “Wanna go ice-skating?”

-0-0-0-

Obito waved goodbye to Shou, the older boy waving back from his doorstep. 

“See you tomorrow!” Obito called out, walking backwards.

“See you!” Shou gave Obito one last wave before opening his door and disappearing back into his house, bags swinging on his arm. 

Obito whirled back around giddily, stumbling over his own two feet. Today had been an amazing day for Obito, getting to hang out with two of his favorite people at the same time. After Shou had gotten over his embarrassment, it turned out he and Naruto got along like a house on fire. Naruto claimed he kind of reminded Naruto of one of his friends back home, this really smart guy he knew. Naruto wouldn’t give up his name, teasing Obito by keeping the knowledge all to himself. Obito had told him it was fine; keep his secrets.

Naruto threw an arm around his shoulders, pulling him into his side. The warm rays of the setting sun cast light shadows on his face, making it seem more soulful. He smiled brightly down at Obito, tugging on the ends of Obito’s hair. He really needed a haircut.

“Good day?” Naruto asked gently.

“Yeah,” Obito hummed tiredly. “The best.”

They didn’t talk much on the way home, choosing to walk together in comfortable silence. The town was starting to die down around them, stalls closing their curtains and shops locking their doors. There were no elderly or children out anymore, replaced by people around Naruto’s age, clearly intent on going out to party. He watched as a gaggle of them swarmed happily down the other side of the street, descending on the bar at the corner. They were clearly tourists, by the looks of them. They’d soon realize if enough regulars came around, they’d definitely be the last to be served.

They ran into Fugly about a block from home, the fat cat slinking out of an alleyway ahead. It only took a moment for her to notice them, much to Obito’s dismay. Her stubby face perked up at the sight of Obito, scrambling down the street to say hello to him. He was infinitely grateful when Naruto intercepted her, tucking her under his other arm like a sack of flour. He earned several scratches for his trouble, but didn’t seem to mind. 

It took the rest of Obito’s energy to force himself up the slight slope to their house, exhaustion steeping deeply into his bones. Naruto had to grip the fabric at the middle of his back to keep him going, he was lagging so far behind. They’d shopped all morning, and then they’d skated all afternoon. Obito was beyond tired, especially since he couldn’t use chakra in public anymore. He was so ready for a nap it wasn’t even funny.

Obito sat himself on the stairs once they made it inside, knees collapsing underneath him. He watched tiredly as Naruto kicked off his boots, dropping Fugly gently to the floor. She followed him out of sight eagerly, already knowing that it was feeding time. 

Obito kicked tiredly at his one shoe, eyes fighting to stay open. He hardly noticed as his lax body started to relax against the steps behind him, still sluggishly trying to push off his shoe. It wasn’t long before his head lolled to his right, resting tiredly against the wall. Obito didn’t know how long he dozed there before feet came into his point of view, stopping once Naruto caught sight of him. Obito had his eyes slit just enough to see, but not enough for Naruto to know he was still awake. He didn’t think he could open them farther if he tried.

Obito didn’t move as Naruto huffed a small laugh, bending over in front of him. Naruto gently tugged both of his boots off his feet, setting them neatly up against the wall. Obito groaned sleepily as Naruto gripped the side of his arms, tugging him forward to lean against his chest. Obito felt Naruto tug his scarf off, and he saw it drop to the floor out of the corner of his eye. Naruto went after his coat next, fighting gently with the stuck zipper. It took one or two good pulls before it slid down, letting Naruto pull the jacket off of him.

Obito almost wanted to let Naruto know he was somewhat awake, but some selfish part inside of him said to keep quiet. He couldn’t help but agree with it as Naruto worked both arms under his legs, lifting him up like a much younger child. He leaned his full weight on Naruto’s front, letting his limbs dangle limply. Naruto hadn’t picked him up at all since the day they’d gotten to Kitahama, and Obito was too proud to admit he missed it, sometimes. He knew he would soon be too old physically for it to be a regular occurence, and he was getting his fix while he still could. He saw it as making up for his younger years.

Naruto hauled him up to his room, using his left arm to open up Obito’s bedroom door. He carefully maneuvered them through the doorway, lowering Obito carefully onto the bed. Obito rolled away from him when he could, not wanting Naruto to figure out he'd been awake the whole time. He was already embarrassed enough.

Obito felt Naruto slip his arm under Obito's torso, pulling him upwards slightly. Naruto used his other hand to yank his covers out from underneath him, pushing them to the end of the bed. Naruto let him go, Obito settling snugly into his mattress. 

Naruto pulled his red blanket up over his shoulders, smoothing down the fabric until it was nestled comfortably around him. The bed dipped as Naruto took a seat behind him, Obito working to keep his breath even, surprised. He was further surprised when Naruto patted a calloused hand against the back of his shoulder, setting an easy pace.

Obito felt himself melt down deeper into his bed, hypnotized by the sensation. He didn't know why this was so comforting, it just was. 'Will he ever do this again?' Obito thought privately. He couldn't even feel a hint of shame at liking it, shockingly. Maybe Obito should start letting himself be selfish every once in a while.

Almost asleep, Obito inwardly protested when Naruto ceased patting him. Naruto sat there another second before Obito felt him lean over, a warm hand pressed into the top of Obito's messy hair. Obito could feel the jolt as Naruto pressed his forehead down onto Obito's arm, fingers stroking through his hair. So quietly, Obito almost missed it, Naruto whispered into the dark.

"Goodnight, Obito. I, I," Naruto stopped, taking a raspy, strangled breath. 

He sounded so close to crying it scared Obito. He was so tempted to flip over, to ask Naruto what was wrong. Why did he sound like that? Why did he sound like his world was ending? Obito wanted, needed to turn around, to see Naruto’s face. But his body wouldn’t move, glued to the bed with trepidation. Something was keeping his body still, and Obito didn’t know what it was. Before he could truly fight against it, Naruto inhaled one more time. He exhaled with a dim whisper of air, Obito straining to catch the words leaving his mouth.

"I love you, kiddo."

Naruto lingered for another minute, choppy breaths echoing throughout Obito’s room. Obito was forced to feel every hiccup that shook Naruto’s body, the pain in them rattling his heart. Obito, stiller than a statue, kept track of every rush of air leaving Naruto’s mouth. It took sixteen tearful breaths for Naruto to lean back. It took another four for him to get off Obito’s bed. It took one to press a kiss to Obito’s hair. And it took a final three for Naruto to finally leave Obito’s room.

Obito’s face was buried in his pillow, single eye blown wide, grogginess forgotten. Through sheer power of will he kept his breathing even, forcing his lungs to cooperate with his wishes. Obito focused a trained ear on Naruto’s movements around the house, waiting with feigned patience for Naruto to go to bed. After what seemed like an eternity, Naruto tread quietly back up the stairs, the door to his room opening and closing. Obito heard the zip of his pants as Naruto undressed, the opening of his drawer indicating his hunt for pajamas. Before long, Naruto’s steady breathing echoed Obito’s, a somber duet.

It was only then that Obito allowed himself to move, to make any sort of sounds. His hand gripped tightly to the front of his shirt, knuckles stained white with the force of it. Silver tracks traced their way down the side of Obito’s face, soaking deeply into his red pillow case, turning it from a bright cherry into a dark, bloody color. The dim memory of buying it with Naruto flit through his mind, the way Naruto had compared it to his sharingan flattering him. Now, it brought him nothing but devastation. 

Overcome with a sudden animosity towards the pillowcase, Obito sprung into a sitting position. Fury filled his chest as he ripped the pillow off the bed, hurling it into the far corner of the room. The pain in his heart didn’t abate, scalding tears serving a reminder as to why he was infuriated. 

Was it really so agonizing to love Obito?

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	11. NOT AN UPDATE

First off, I am so sorry for the radio silence these past couple months. A lot of thing have been going on in my personal life, and that lead to my lack of updates with this work. 

Starting off, I rushed these chapters in order to get them posted for you guys. I loved writing them, but I feel I need to go back and really dedicate myself to editing them, which make take me several days or weeks. I could stand to use better language, and to thoroughly explain some things I brushed over.

The next thing is that I used to have only one reliable computer, which I lost access to once this whole quarantine started. The one I had at home was old and slow, and I would quickly lose patience while trying to use it. It was actually a big factor as to why I updated so quickly; when I had use of the working computer, I would try to rush the chapters out with the limited time I had. Now, I have a new one, so I can start writing from home again, which is a huge weight off my shoulders.

Lastly, the main reason I stopped writing was because of something that happened in my personal life. My adoptive mother found my private journal in my room, and read through it. I had some humiliating stuff in there that I didn't want anybody to read, not even my best friend or partner of four years. For context, I was put into foster care in fifth grade, so as you can imagine the stuff I had in there can be really personal. To be completely honest, I don't trust my adoptive parents as much as I probably should, do to their unfair treatment of me compared to their biological children. 

This just proved that fact. 

Her reading my journal made me lose confidence in my writing for a long time, as I didn't censor myself in it. It was dramatic, angsty writing of a person a lot younger than my actual age, because I felt like I didn't have to be mature in it. In all honesty, I sounded about thirteen throughout the whole thing, which is embarrassing enough. Thankfully, it only had a few entries because it was new. Also, it made me incredibly paranoid that she had somehow found this writing as well. I know not updating wouldn't change what had already been done, but some voice in the back of my head told me to stop anyway, just incase she knows my profile. My privacy felt completely violated, and I felt shame for writing in my PRIVATE journal, and for writing this story. I avoided even thinking about updating, and lost a lot of my passion for it that I'm only just starting to get back.

Thankfully, I have now moved in with my boyfriend's family, and we're trying to get an apartment together. My adoptive parents gave me the option to either move across the country with them, or find another place to live. Obviously, I chose to stay where I am now. Already I can feel myself becoming happier, and that lead to me deciding to commit to editing and starting to update this story again.

I apologize for making you all wait for so long, and I promise I have been reading the comments, but I've been too much of a coward to respond. I am going to edit every chapter over, and change the story just a bit. Not overly much, just to change some of the grammar and maybe a situation or two. I want this story to really reflect my love of writing, and I feel it does not currently show it. To me, it feels thrown together, and you guys deserve better than that. Thank you all for being so loyal to me, and messaging me even months later. The next time I post an update, all of the previous chapters will hopefully be improved. I swear to begin personally responding to comments you guys leave, and listening and asking for advice as it comes my way. I really do love doing this, and I hope you guys can help me make it a better story.

I love you all, and thank you so much for your appreciation. See you next update!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! So it's been a long few months but I got here! I'm a lot more satisfied now than I was before, but I think I definitely need a beta after I post a few more works. Small personal update, I've just gotten a new job as an EMT with my cities ambulance association! It's been hard work with the whole training and virus, but it's a lot of fun, and I do my first training run on Monday with my Field Training Officer. Anyway, I'm happy to be back, and hope to continue posting regularly. Let me know what you guys think, because as always I do read your comments and edit my work based off them. Love you all!

When Naruto went to rouse him the next day, Obito was in no mood to climb out of his bed. He’d tossed and turned fitfully all night, unable to get even five minutes of sleep. At one point he’d gone and retrieved his pillow, but it did little to help him get comfortable. He’d just be completely useless if he went to school like this, unable to pay attention to any of his classes. He’d be better off just staying home with Fugly, lounging in his room all day.

Hearing the knock on his door, Obito ignored it, merely giving a small grunt of acknowledgement. It was obvious that Naruto was surprised when Obito didn’t respond, audibly hesitating on the other side of Obito’s door. Obito always bid Naruto a good morning when he knocked on Obito’s door; it was typically the first thing he did in a day. Naruto knocked a second time, far more gently than the first. “Obito?” He asked softly. “Are you sick?”

Obito didn’t say anything this time, burrowing deeper down into the blankets. It wasn’t a complete lie, after all: Obito did feel unwell. Granted, it was due to sleep deprivation, but he was sick to his stomach nonetheless. His eye was all crusty and gross from being open most of the night, eyelid almost glued closed from all the crust. A resounding headache beat through his skull, the drum of it making Obito’s head throb.

Obito had tried numerous times to sleep the night before, but nothing had worked. Every time he had closed his eyes all he heard was Naruto’s voice, cracking apart as he told Obito he loved him. It haunted his every attempt at sleep for the entirety of the night, the imaginary Naruto not letting up. His anger had abated a while ago, leaving behind only sadness.

The real Naruto softly turned his doorknob, slipping into his room. Obito was lying face up this time around, unlike yesterday when he was laying on his side. Obito monitored Naruto’s progress across his carpeted floor, his feet producing soft ‘swish’ noises from the carpet. Obito listened to the jangle of Fugly’s bell as she followed Naruto into the room, a significant weight landing on his legs a confirmation of her presence.

He cracked his eye as Naruto stopped by the bed, fighting past the layers of itchy detritus caked to it. Naruto’s bright hair and pajamas came into hazy focus, Obito too tired to really bring his image into sharper view. In a mirror of the night before, Naruto sat himself on the side of Obito’s bed. Naruto’s cold hand came to rest on his forehead, testing the temperature of his skin. Despite all of the turmoil in his head, Obito still relaxed at the familiar touch. “Tch,” Naruto murmured. “It feels like you have a fever. Do you want me to stay home with you today?”

Mildly nonplussed, Obito shook his head, trying not to aggravate his headache. He hadn’t expected to actually have a fever, but it really wasn’t too much of a shocker. Following a day of activity and then a night full of stress, it was no wonder that Obito was burning up. He’d just contributed his sweating to his blanket, not because he was feverish. Mopping some sweat off his brow with his sleeve, Obito could make out Naruto’s frown. He knew without saying that Naruto had full intention of calling off to stay home with him, regardless of what Obito said.

Suddenly desperate for a day to sort out his thoughts, Obito’s hand latched onto Naruto’s wrist. “It's okay,” he rasped. “Go to work, I’ll be fine. You’ve taken off too much already this month, we still need to pay rent.” Obito allowed his hand to release his hold on Naruto, falling limply

Naruto sighed, obviously not liking that Obito was right. He deliberated with himself for a moment, most likely weighing his options. Obito waited in suspense for Naruto to make his verdict, really hoping Naruto would choose to go to work. Obito truly did need a few hours without Naruto’s presence, yearning for some time to think. Tenderly, Naruto rubbed his thumb across Obito’s brow. 

“Are you sure? I could leave a clone behind if you want?”

Sensing he was winning, Obito pressed on, determined not to lose. “I’m most likely going to sleep all day anyway, you’d just be here waiting around for nothing. Don’t waste your chakra, save it for after Christmas. You promised you’d train me, remember?”

Naruto sighed, stilling his thumb. Obito could barely contain his grin: he had him. “Alright, alright. If you start to feel any worse come to the shop, okay? I’m coming straight home after work, we can go furniture shopping on Wednesday instead.”

Naruto took his hand away from his forehead, using it to hoist himself up. Obito observed groggily as Naruto moved to the end of his bed, scooping up a protesting Fugly, her stubby little tail thrashing back and forth in feline rage. Lingering in his doorway, Naruto flashed him one more smile, hiking Fugly further into his arms. “Get some more sleep, kiddo.”

Vanishing into the hall, Naruto quietly closed the door behind him, Fugly’s deep warble following him out. Zoning into the sounds of Naruto’s morning routine, Obito paid close attention to when Naruto finally left. For good measure, Obito gave it another ten minutes before he hauled himself out of bed. Grabbing his eyepatch, which had mysteriously made its way to his nightstand during the night, Obito slipped it over his head.

Dressing clumsily, Obito shucked on a new outfit, not affording time for a shower. As a precaution, Obito popped into the bathroom, feeling around the top shelf for a box of face masks. Finding it, Obito slipped one on, situating the elastic band around his ears, maneuvering around the eyepatch. Stumbling downstairs, Obito took a fast seat on the bottom step. Reaching for his winter boots, Obito tugged them onto his socked feet, lacing them up quickly. Obito slipped on his scarf, the garment having been removed from the floor and thrown over the railing. Patting his pocket for his keys, Obito slipped out the door.

He needed advice.

-0-0-0-

A small rock pinged off the dark window, falling silently back to earth as gravity took back it’s hold.

Not receiving a response, a small volley of earthy shrapnel was the next to make it up, making far more noise than the single rock had. A light came on inside the dark room, radiating out into the dark surrounding the small house. The window latches made hardly any sound as they released, the window sliding up seamlessly. A tousled head of dark curls poked out, tired frown on its face. It angrily looked around, zeroing quickly in on the intruder on it’s property. The intruder waved back, unaffected.

“Shou, lemme in. We need to talk.”

“Kai it is six in the fucking morning.”

-0-0-0-

A few minutes of grovelling later, Obito hovered by the front door, shivering from a combination of the cold and his fever. 

Hearing the click of the locks unengaging, Obito pressed closer to the wood of the door, impatient. The second Shou opened the door enough, Obito smoothly slid through, hardly making a sound. Waiting for Shou to lock back up, Obito shadowed Shou back up into the other boys room. Obito flopped himself down onto the bed when he was through the door, legs hanging off the side. To Shou’s credit, he didn’t ask Obito anything; he just flopped down beside him, propping his head up one one hand and watching him.

Obito was quiet for a long time, fiddling with the facemask. By the time he actually said anything, the clock read 6:20, and Shou was nodding off on his hand. Softly, Obito cleared his throat.

“He told me he loved me.”

Shou was awake in an instant, head abruptly snapping up. He trained his green eyes on Obito. “What did you say back?”

Obito shook his head, throwing his arm over his eyes. “I was almost asleep. I, um, fell asleep downstairs and he put me to bed. He said it just before he left my room.”

Shou gazed at him, uncomprehending. “I don’t see the problem here. He obviously adores you, you worship the ground he walks on, so just tell him you love him already. Call him dad while you do it, that will really make your case.”

“It’s not that simple,” Obito bemoaned. “Shou, he sounded wrecked when he said it. He was about five seconds from bawling his eyes out the minute it left his mouth.” Unbidden, a traitorous thought rose to mind. He ruthlessly squashed it down, continuing to talk to Shou. 

“Besides, I’ve never said that to anybody before, not seriously. I told you I loved you yesterday but I made it funny, you know? How do I do it seriously?”

Shou drummed his fingers on the blanket, thinking. “I don’t know, I’ve never put too much thought into it. Maybe hug him and say it then? You already know he loves you so it's not like he’s going to reject you.”

Obito groaned, kicking his legs against the bottom of the bed. “Why does this have to be so difficult? And why did he sound so upset about it?”

Shou shrugged awkwardly, concerned eyes locked onto Obito. “ I don’t know, maybe he hasn’t said it that often? You said he didn’t have parents, right? Maybe he was sad about that when he said it?”

Obito shook his head reluctantly, frowning at the ceiling. “I don’t think so, it was something else. I can’t explain what it is, it’s just this feeling I have.”

Shou reached over and patted Obito’s shoulder, shaking him gently. “Hey, whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll work out. You should just ask him about it, maybe he’ll tell you. And hey, are you coming to school at all today?”

“Fine, fine, you’re probably right,” Obito conceded. “ And naw, I’ve got a fever. I just really needed some advice.”

“Cool, cool, man, you can always find that here. Hey, wanna stay for breakfast?”

“Who do you think I am? Of course I’m staying for breakfast.”

-0-0-0-

Surprisingly, Shou’s mom didn’t bat an eye at Obito wandering down the stairs behind Shou, despite Obito not having been there the night before. Always kind, Hikari, as she insisted he call her, welcomed Obito with a bright, “Good morning!”

Shou’s dad glanced over the top of the morning paper he was reading, winking at Obito and giving the top of the paper a shake. Hiroshi was a man of few words, but somehow just as nice as Hikari. Obito adored Shou’s house almost as much as he loved his own, but home is where he always wanted to be at the end of the day. 

Obito smiled at them both as he stole a seat at the table, making sure it reached his eye. The mask itched uncomfortably at the bottom of his eyepatch, a slight irritant he could ignore. Obito liked his eyepatch, but didn’t much like the mask. It already was itching at his ears, making him uncomfortable, but Obito knew he didn’t want to get anybody else sick.

Smiling back at him, Hikari served out breakfast, a simple meal of rice, miso, and fish from the bay. No offense meant to Naruto, but Hikari was a much better cook. Given time, Obito knew Naruto would improve, but for now Obito was voting for Hikari for best cook. The table was comfortably quiet as they ate, Obito not taking much for himself. He was barely able to taste anything anyway, so it was better not to waste it. Before long, Obito finished before the rest of them, relaxing back into the chair behind him. Subtly slouching down, Obito buried his mouth into his scarf. He blew hot air into his mask, eye sliding close as it came back and warmed his cold skin. Obito could tell the fever was getting worse, and was oddly grateful for it. If he was too busy being sick, he wouldn’t think about last night. Why did Naruto sound so upset when he said he loved Obito? Was it really that awful to love him? Obito didn’t understand, and it was starting to frustrate him. Why did Naruto have to be so confusing? Obito barely knew where Naruto came from, the man was so tight lipped. As open as the man seemed, he had a lot of secrets.

A touch on his shoulder brought Obito back to reality, the boy subtly starting in surprise. Fighting down the urge to flip the person behind him, Obito calmy opened his eye. Surprisingly, the table was cleared in front of him, Hiroshi vanishing to work and Hikari washing the dishes. Blinking in surprise, Obito looked over his shoulder. It was Shou, fully dressed and looking concerned. Obito felt concerned too, not realizing that much time had gotten away from him. It was especially concerning because Obito was supposed to be a ninja, and ninja’s didn’t just tune out like that.

Shou lightly shook him, maintaining eye contact. “You alright, Kai?”

Obito nodded, blinking. He really needed to get home.

Shou helped haul him off the chair, letting Obito rest against his side for a minute to catch his balance. Obito leaned into his friend’s warmth, shivering so hard his hair, longer now, shook with him. Shou frowned down at Obito, face scrunching up. “Hey, maybe you should come with me to school today. I mean, I’d offer to let you stay here, but Mom has plans today. Just hang out in the nurse's office and rest, you shouldn’t be home alone by yourself. I’ll go tell Mamoru where you are after school.”

Obito nodded tiredly, acknowledging Shou’s point. He was too wiped to try to protest. “Yeah, okay. Help me walk though.”

Shou let Obito huddle up against his back as he tugged on his coat and bookbag, shivering miserably. Obito could tell that the fever would blow over in the next day or two, but until then he was half the boy he usually was. Shou finished quickly, tugging on his boots lastly. Obito didn’t even realise he hadn’t put his on until Shou lifted his foot for him, easily slipping his left boot on. Obito felt his face burn with something that wasn’t fever as Shou helped him into his boots, humiliated. He was tempted to call the whole thing off and head home, but Obito knew the nurse’s office would be just as quiet as home, so it was somewhat pointless to argue.

Shou straightened up from lacing up Obito’s boots, tugging him forward by the middle of his jacket. Obito followed along dutifully, just aware enough to call a goodbye to Hikari. Obito shivered hard at the blast of wind that met them on the porch, hunching into himself. Shou immediately stepped in between Obito and the wind, providing a shield for him. Huddled together, they made their short way down the street to the school. Never had Obito been so grateful that Shou lived so close to the school. Making his way into the gate with Shou, Obito felt his ears prick up at a strange sound coming from an alley down the street. Pulling to a stop, Obito latched onto Shou’s sleeve, listening intently. 

“Kai?”

Obito ignored him, focusing. He absently tugged Shou forward with him, the older boy falling quiet at Obito’s silence. Obito’s footsteps got quicker as he made his way forward, almost breaking into a job. Something strange was happening with Obito’s heart, the organ pounding away inside his chest. Obito didn’t really understand why, but it left a bad taste in his mouth.

Pulling up to the mouth of it, Obito peeked his head around the corner, Shou peeking out above him. For a minute, Obito thought he was going crazy. It was just a couple of young, entitled kids from their school, surrounding something in a circle. They were all laughing with each other, giving eachother claps on the back and occasionally kicking out at whatever they were surrounding. Maybe they were playing a game or something? Obito started to feel embarrassment creeping in, feeling guilty for dragging Shou along with him. About to turn and apologize, Obito felt Shou go unnaturally still behind him, latching onto Obito’s arm with a tight grip. Wondering why, Obito leaned onto the tips of his toes, trying to see what Shou could with his superior height.

And then Obito felt his blood boil, barely registering Shou’s frantic shaking of his shoulder.

Fugly, her squashed little face screwed up in terror, howling in the middle of the circle of boys. Her collar, the jangly one that Naruto had picked out for her was ripped off, laying in the dirt just beside her. As Obito watched, frozen, one of the taller boys aimed a kick at Fugly, scraping her haunch as she darted out of the way, the cat sinking her claws into his ankle as he drew back. Whirling, the cat didn’t manage to dodge the stick a pudgier girl threw at her, the hard wood hitting her in the stomach. Stumbling, Fugly desperately looked around for a way out, head swiveling. Obito felt his breath catch in his throat as her beady little eyes found Obito’s own, the slits dilating, and somehow Obito could almost feel her relief at seeing him, her boy. 

Therefore, Obito felt it was completely justified when he shook off Shou and hurtled down the alley.

The students didn’t even register Obito moving down the alley, the boy not even using chakra to move. They were all too busy laughing amongst themselves still, the pudgy girl snorting up a storm, not realizing she had just painted a target on her back. The girl sure as shit realized Obito was there when he broke her nose, though. Stumbling back, the girl didn’t even have time to scream before Obito planted a boot into her stomach, sending her ricocheting off a nearby dumpster and onto the dirty alley ground. Obito managed to get another kick in, this one aimed at the taller boy that had kicked at Fugly. Obito felt viciously satisfied as he crushed his boot into exactly where Fugly had scratched, the boy shrieking in pain as he went down. The shrieking of their friends was enough to rouse the other kids, and that’s when they all rushed Obito at once, Fugly worming her way underneath the dumpster.

Despite the fact that Obito was sick and not using chakra, he still gave as good as he got. It didn’t matter that he was smaller than these older kids, Obito gave back what he got twofold, lashing out at anything moving. It wasn’t long before he started to get overwhelmed though, too many people to handle. Before long, a lucky swing split open his freshly healed lip, blood dripping down his chin and onto his scarf as his mask was torn away. While he was distracted, another boy managed to grab Obito from under his arms, exposing his stomach. Obito felt the breath rush out of him as a girl took one, and then two swings at his ribs. She didn’t get to take a third as Fugly appeared out of nowhere, somehow launching herself from the top of the dumpster straight onto the girl's face.

Screaming, the girl spun around, slapping desperately at the cat. At the same time, Obito felt the boy on his back being ripped away, Shou tackling him onto the ground. Stumbling, Obito watched out of the corner of his eye as Shou dragged the teenager up by the collar, slamming his forehead viciously into the other kid’s. Obito didn’t have time for much more thought as another boy came at him, throwing himself back into the fight. This time, they wouldn’t catch him off guard.

-0-0-0-

Naruto had a shitty night of sleep as well, not that he knew Obito had been tossing and turning all night. He’d spent the night running his hand down the cat, staring into the middle of his ceiling fan, for once having his thoughts to himself. Kurama seemed to realize Naruto needed to sort this one out on his own, and kept quiet, a reassuring presence at the back of Naruto’s mind. A mind that was currently in turmoil, might Naruto add.

Over the course of the past few weeks, Naruto had come to some very hard conclusions. The first of them was that he loved Obito. Try as he might to stop it, Naruto loved Obito from the bottom of his heart, the mere thought of the boy filling his chest with warmth. His smile when he was happy, his laugh, the way he clung to Naruto when he needed support. The absolute trust and vulnerability the kid gave Naruto the privilege to see. The faith he had that Naruto would always be there for him, and the joy Naruto felt at just spending time with the preteen. The warm weight of Obito’s worn body in his arms, the younger kid too tired to make it to bed himself. That was his kid, and Naruto loved him. And it was tearing Naruto apart.

How was Naruto supposed to raise him, train him, love him, and then go back to the future. How was Naruto supposed to look Obito in the eye, clap him on the shoulder, and then abandon him? Even if Sasuke could set up a way for Naruto to come back and visit, it wouldn’t be the same. Naruto wanted to be there for Obito’s first relationship, Obito’s first date, Obito’s first breakup. Naruto wanted to teach Obito how to drive when the time came, even when Naruto himself barely knew how. Hell, he wanted to stand beside Obito on his wedding day, just like Iruka would have done for him, had that ever happened. He wanted to learn how to tie Obito’s tie for him, because he knew the boy would never learn. He wanted to look at Obito’s joyful face as he held his first child, and Naruto wanted to hold that child as well. Admitting to Obito’s sleeping body that he loved him had been the final straw, making everything all the more real, making Naruto want that all the more.

To make a long story short, Naruto wanted to be with Obito all of the time, not just some of the time. And that meant Naruto had a choice to make; stay here, or go back to the future. And to be honest, it wasn’t that hard of a choice, sadly. As much as Naruto loved his team, and as sure as he was Sasuke would track him down eventually with that eye of his, Naruto didn’t think he could go back to the future. Sure, once he figured out how, he’d visit all the time, but his home was here now. With his kid. And, as he secretly hoped for himself, maybe more kids in the future.

It took him until just before his alarm went off to come to peace with that fact, but he was still vaguely upset as he got ready for the day. It made him even more upset once he found out Obito was sick, the kid looking pale and off, but insistent that Naruto go to work. Reluctantly, Naruto had admitted he was right, especially since Naruto had a stop to make beforehand.

Studying the note Shou had slipped into his pocket, Naruto took a minute it was the right stand before slipping inside, calling a greeting to the woman behind the counter. Taking a left, Naruto followed the tiny map on the sticky note, coming to a stop in front of a wall of accessories. Taking a minute to scan it, Naruto huffed in triumph. Pink, with pom poms? This was the hat.

Carefully taking it off the hook, Naruto couldn’t resist grabbing the matching gloves and scarf on a shelf nearby. Sue him, his kid deserved to be spoiled once in a while. The lady at the counter gave him a knowing look as she rang him up at the counter, smiling kindly. “These are for that little black haired kid right, the polite one? He was eyeing them all up yesterday, didn’t take his eyes off them for about three minutes. He yours?”

Naruto grinned sheepishly, rubbing a hand along the back of his neck, eyes squinting. He laughed a little, tucking away his wallet and picking up the bags. “Yeah, that’s Kai. And um, yeah, he’s my kid. But trust me, it wasn’t me that taught him how to be polite.”

The counter lady laughed, waving her hand at him. “I doubt that, I can see some of you in him. He’s got your face shape, at least. Go on, shoo, get home to him as soon as you can. He adores you.”

Bowing, Naruto left the shop, making his way through the bustling Monday streets to work. Coming up to the stall, Naruto frowned in confusion at the sight of one of the aids from Obito’s school, gesturing desperately at a shocked looking Daizen. Feeling fear grip his heart, Naruto barely registered his speed as he ran over, skidding to a stop. Obito was supposed to be at home, why was someone from the school here?

“What’s wrong?” Naruto barked. “Is Obito okay? He’s supposed to be at home, why are you here?”

The aid looked at him, face serious. “Mr Uzumaki,” he began. “I need you to come with me, there's been an incident at the school.”

There was a sinking feeling in Naruto’s stomach, his grip on the bag getting tighter. “What kind of incident.”

“I’m afraid your son was in a fight with several other students, Mr. Uzumaki. The principle demands your presence immediately.”

Well, this was a little worse than a letter, wasn’t it.

-0-0-0-

Obito scowled harshly at the floor of the office, scuffing the toe of his boot along the tile. Next to him, Shou scowled just as harshly, the grip he had on his bag straps unrelenting. Obito had an equally tight grip, but his was on Fugly, considering he didn’t have a bag. When several teachers had come to break up the fight, Obito had managed to scoop up Fugly in the chaos, and refused to release her even inside the school building. Currently, the teachers were either phoning or directly going to round up the parents of the students involved, and Obito hadn’t spoken a word to anybody. They had to pull his student file to find out where Naruto worked, and had sent the principal's aid down there to fetch him.

Every time the door to the office slid open, Obito felt his stomach clench in trepidation, every time expecting it to be Naruto. But it never was, always either parents or other teachers. Shou’s parents had shown up around ten minutes ago, barely having a minute to stop and ask if they were alright before being called into the office, their faces extremely upset. Tensing, Obito registered the door sliding open one more time, and looked up into Naruto’s stormy face, staring right at him. Flinching, Obito’s eye slid away, coming to rest on a random corner of the office., his grip getting tighter on Fugly. He felt like he had to puke, and not all of it was because he was sick.

A pair of winter boots came to rest right in front of him, right in the corner of his eye. Blue pants were tucked into the ankle part, two small black bags dangling from a gloved hand. Gulping, Obito shut his eye all together. He felt more than heard Naruto kneel on his knees in front of him, Naruto’s other hand coming up towards his face, Obito somehow able to feel it. Obito felt ashamed when he whimpered, squeezing his eye shut tighter, pushing back into the chair.

There was a stunned silence from in front of him, Naruto going still in surprise. It wasn’t long before the hand gently returned, tilting Obito’s head forward, Naruto running his thumb against a bruise on his jaw. “Hey,” Naruto murmured. “Look at me, kiddo?” Obito shook his head, eye still squeezed shut. Naruto’s quiet “Please?” made him hesitantly do so, opening his eye only a little.

Vision blurry for a second, it took Obito a minute to realize Naruto didn’t look angry anymore, but instead worried. His brown was creased, and his scarf was far down enough that Obito could see the frown on his face, his whisker marks scrunched up. Obito took a shaky breath as Naruto scanned his face, calloused hand moving to cup Obito’s cheek. The cool metal of the bracelet Obito gave him felt good against his skin, his face hot to the couch. The bright metal of Naruto’s earring gave him something to focus on, keeping him grounded in the moment.

“Are you alright?”

For a second, Obito thought about lying. He thought about nodding his head, faking a smile, and pretending he was perfectly fine. But the truth was, he wasn’t okay. His fever was worse, he could barely see straight, and he was in pain. He hadn’t been okay since last night, and suddenly he wanted to desperately tell Naruto why. Naruto always made him feel better, Obito just had to tell him. So he did.

“N-no,” he choked out. “N-nothing’s okay, I’m not okay, I just wanna go home. I heard what you said last night and I’ve been thinking about it all day and I just want to go home and talk about it. Please, Dad, please, I just want to go h-home now.”

Obito felt Shou start next to him, and Naruto’s blue eyes went wide, staring at Obito in shock. Belatedly, Obito realized what he just said, and felt his fever flush get deeper, the red spreading all the way down his next and beneath his collar. Too tired to try to run away, Obito let his eye slide closed, pressing his face into Naruto’s gloved hand, trembling with fever. The only thing keeping him upright was Naruto’s hand on his face, as Obito was suddenly too weak to keep himself upright. 

His legs felt tingly as he pitched forward, sliding off Naruto’s hand, suddenly freefalling, Fugly sliding out of his grip. His face and chest fell into Naruto’s shoulder, his arms dangling perpendicular to the ground, butt falling off the seat. Naruto caught him, because Naruto always caught him. His big, gentle hands guided Obito into his lap, Obito laying across Naruto’s knees. His head lulled in the crook of Naruto’s arm, Obito’s one arm trapped between their bodies, the other hanging limp. Naruto shook him gently, hand cupping the side of his face again, trying to open Obito’s right eye with his clumsy right hand. 

“Kiddo, kiddo, open your eye for me, come on. I’m here, Dad’s here, just look it at me. Obito, look at me, damnit!”

But Obito couldn’t, darkness coming for him quickly, just like it had all those weeks ago. But this time, Obito wasn’t afraid. He knew it was only temporary, and that he would wake up this time. He had somewhere to go home to, after all.

-0-0-0-

Just as he knew he would, Obito woke up again, but not where he’d passed out.

For one thing, the nurse's office didn’t have a ceiling fan. For another, the nurses office also didn’t have this comfortable of a cot, and the nurse was nowhere near kind enough to put a cold towel on his forehead, judging by the wetness there.

Without moving his head too much, Obito groggily looked around; he was in Naruto’s room. He could tell because of the comforter, and by the fact the man himself was curled around Obito’s legs. The man was awkwardly tucked into himself on top of the comforter, down by Obito’s legs, one arm wrapped around Obito’s thighs and forehead resting on his left hip. Naruto was sound asleep, shaggy hair draped across his shoulders, the blond strands longer now. Fugly rested on Obito’s shins, the creature capable of napping anywhere. Despite the pain of his split lip, Obito felt a smile quirk at the corner of his mouth. Huh, Naruto really did love him.

Suddenly somber, Obito carefully pulled his left hand from underneath the blankets, wincing at how sore it was. Obito was surprised to see bandages tenderly wrapped around his knuckles, carefully wrapped around each finger with a deft touch. Naruto must have put it on for him. Carefully, Obito flexed his fingers, feeling the stretch of the cloth. Glancing out the window, Obito was shocked to see it was around evening time, the sun already setting and casting long shadows around Naruto’s room. Licking his lips, Obito realized his mouth was dry, which made sense. He must have been out for a few hours now, and probably mouth breathing the whole time. Maybe Naruto would get him some water before they talked.

Reaching down carefully, mindful of how sore he was, Obito put his hand in Naruto’s fluffy hair. For some reason it was kind of greasy, which was uncharacteristic considering how often Naruto bathed. Giving it a tug, Obito spoke quietly. “Naruto,” he rasped. “Hey, Naruto. Can I get some water?”

Naruto shifted groggily, tightening his grip on Obito’s waist. After a moment the blond went stiff, head shooting up abruptly, startling Obito into tightening his grip on Naruto’s hair. Blue eyes locked onto Obito’s, once again wide. For some reason the stubble on his face was pretty bad for this time of day, and there were slight bags under his eyes. Obito was frightened by the sight of tears filling them, only having seen Naruto cry a handful of times. “Dad?” It slipped out without permission, the word once again causing him trouble, but Obito didn’t have too much time to ponder on it before Naruto was moving.

“Obito!”

Naruto pounced at him, moving up the bed before Obito could blink. In seconds Naruto was hovering over him, left arm wrapped around Obito’s head and the other coming up under his armpit, lying diagonally across his back. Obito’s face was smashed into Naruto’s chest as the older man dragged him into the hug, kneeling over him protectively. Naruto buried his face into the side of Obito’s head, shaking. Obito was thoroughly freaked out, arms hovering uncertainly over Naruto’s back.

“Wha-” Obito didn’t have time to finish the question, Naruto speaking over him.

“You were out for almost two days,” he muttered, shutting Obito up. No wonder Obito was so thirsty, and Naruto so shaken up. Understanding now, Obito wrapped his arms around Naruto’s back, hugging him too. Naruto kept talking.

“I was so worried, I know its dumb. The doctor said you’d be fine, just keep you hydrated, but I’ve never had to do this before. I’ve never had a sick kid before, you looked like you were in so much pain.” Naruto tightened his grip on Obito, bringing Obito up and closer, the washcloth sliding off. “I’m sorry, it's just that you’re my kid and I couldn’t help you. It made me feel useless, and I haven’t felt that way in a long time. You kept calling my name and there was nothing I could do for you. You’re my world, Obito.”

As much as what Naruto was saying warmed his heart, Obito couldn’t help himself, he had to know. “Then why did you sound so heartbroken?”

Naruto released him a little, pulling away just enough to look at Obito’s face in confusion. Obito looked away, pulling his arms down to try to sit himself up. Realizing what he wanted, Naruto moved his hands to Obito’s armpits, leaning back and sitting him up. Sliding his leg off the edge of the bed, Naruto sat and faced Obito, looking confused. “What are you talking about, kiddo?”

Playing with his hands in his lap, Obito traced his fingers over his knuckles, refusing to look at Naruto. “When you told me you loved me,” he whispered, hearing Naruto take a sharp breath. “Why did you sound so upset? You were crying, but it wasn’t in a good way, not like when I got you the jewelry or when we got the house.” Finally, Obito looked up, facing Naruto.

“Is it really that horrible to love me?”

-0-0-0-

That sentence drove the breath out of Naruto’s lungs, Kurama kind of gasping in the back of his head. Horrified, Naruto’s mouth opened and closed, unable to form a proper word of denial. Obito looked devastated, staring at Naruto’s face, eye darting across it. Naruto knew he didn’t have much longer to think of what to say before Obito would start to draw the wrong conclusion, and was proven right by the dismayed look starting to flood Obito’s face, his eye starting to fill with tears. Before he could think any harder about it, Naruto blurted out the first thing to come to mind.

“Loving you has been the best thing I have ever done.”

It wasn’t what Naruto had ever expected to say, but he couldn't deny that it was true. It was one of the truest things Naruto had ever said, and Naruto was a very genuine person. It helped to relieve the look on Obito’s face, but not entirely, the preteen still doubtful.

“Then why?” Obito didn’t complete the question, choking on it, but Naruto knew what he was going to ask anyway.

“Because I realized I could never give you up, Obito. Believe it or not, I lived extremely far away from here, almost a world away. And I made myself a family, but then I met you, and I realized I could never be happy without you there. And it’s not someplace you’d ever be allowed to go, not even to visit, and that means I’m staying here. With you, because I love you, and you’re my son, and I wouldn’t trade you for the world. Not even to go back home, because this is my home now. You are my home now, I don’t care that we haven’t known each other that long. Had you been born from me it would have been just the same, so I don’t see what difference it makes that you’re older, and someone other than me had to raise you first. Because you’re mine now, and you’re always going to be.”

Naruto barely knew what he was saying, instead choosing to speak from the heart. And it was true, had Obito been one of his biological children he would have felt just the same, and nobody would bat an eye at Naruto loving him after just a few weeks. If he could love a baby in that short amount of time whose to say he couldn’t love an older kid that way.

Obito seemed stunned, his eye swirling with the Sharingan in face of his emotion. “Am I allowed to have something like this?” he whispered. Everything seemed so still, the two ninja only focused on eachother. Nothing else mattered in that moment. “Am I allowed to have this? To call you Dad, to live with you for as long as I want?” Obito swallowed thickly. “Am I allowed to love you back?” Naruto didn’t even need Kurama chanting in the back of his head to know the answer to that.

“You’re my kid, of course you get to have all of that. If you want it, I mean.”

Obito leaped across the bed, bowling into Naruto, scrambling into his lap. Naruto folded his arms around him, holding him close, letting his own tears fall. It felt like all they’d been doing for the past couple weeks is crying, but this time it felt like it was in a good way. The best way, even. Obito was nodding his head against Naruto’s shoulder, arms wound around his neck, and legs around his waist.

“I want it, Dad, Pops, Papa, whatever you wanna be called. I want it, I love you too.”

Laughing wetly, Naruto nodded too, squeezing him tightly. Fugly took that opportunity to walk up from the end of the bed where she had been patiently waiting, and squeezed between them, settling in between their laps. Sniffling, they both laughed, leaning back and wiping at their eyes. Naruto blindly reached around for the washcloth, using it to mop up Obito’s face, ignoring his protests. He used his T-shirt to mop up his own, tears soaking the fabric of the collar. Idly he dropped the cloth off the edge of the bed, using his leg on the floor to steady himself. Moving carefully, he stood on it, dragging Obito into a kneeling position on the mattress.

Obito looked up at him, Fugly on his lap, wiping at his face with his hands, getting himself under control. Naruto ruffled his hair with both hands, leaning over pressing a kiss to the top of his forehead, surprising them both. Naruto stepped back, red faced, and itched the back of his neck.

“Sorry I’ve just, uh, seend moms do that before and it always looked nice to try but I’ve never had a mom and now I have a kid, holy shit, even though I’m not a mom I thought-”

“It was nice!” Obito blurted out, interrupting him. “I mean, you’re a dad, not a mom, but it was nice. I liked it.”

Naruto nodded, looking a lot less embarrassed and a lot more happy. Before he could say anything else the doorbell rang, and they both started in surprise. Naruto took the opportunity to retreat for a minute, heading towards the door. He stopped at the doorway and looked back at Obito, grinning.

“I’ll be right back, don’t get in too much trouble while I’m gone.”

Obito pouted comically, making Naruto laugh before he disappeared down the steps.

-0-0-0-

Obito sat awkwardly on the bed, Fugly on his lap, idly petting her. He was relieved to see she was unhurt, and her collar had already been fixed with careful stitches. Obito hadn’t known Naruto could sew, but he shouldn’t be too surprised, the man was obviously a homemaker. 

Hearing footsteps on the stairs, Obito looked up, expecting Naruto but instead, it was Shou. About to open his mouth in delighted surprise, Obito was stunned when Shou put a hand up, quieting him. Obito kept quiet as Shou moved to sit on the end of the bed, watching him carefully. The other boy looked serious, but not mad or anything, which was confusing Obito. What was going on? Obito didn’t get a chance to ask, Shou speaking before he could.

“When you passed out, Mamoru didn’t call you Kai; he called you Obito. Tell me the truth, is Kai your actual name, or have you been lying to me for the past month?”

Well, there's Obito’s answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! So it's been a long few months but I got here! I'm a lot more satisfied now than I was before, but I think I definitely need a beta after I post a few more works. Small personal update, I've just gotten a new job as an EMT with my cities ambulance association! It's been hard work with the whole training and virus, but it's a lot of fun, and I do my first training run on Monday with my Field Training Officer. Anyway, I'm happy to be back, and hope to continue posting regularly. Let me know what you guys think, because as always I do read your comments and edit my work based off them. Love you all!


	13. Chapter 13

Naruto fluttered awkwardly around the kitchen, attempting to be doing something productive. In all reality, he was eavesdropping. He couldn’t help it, he was nosy, and so was Kurama. The fox was always up to listen to some pre-teen drama. Plus, not that Naruto would admit it, he was having a hard time not monitoring where Obito was at every second. Even with all the doctor’s reassurances, Naruto couldn’t help but worry. He’d been sick all of three times in his whole life, and he basically had no reference as to what was normal and what was not. Afraid to find out the hard way, Naruto had kept vigil over Obito for the past two days, only resting when his fever had broken a few hours ago.

When Obito had fallen off that chair and passed out, Naruto had felt his heart stop. For a minute he was thrown back to a few months ago, finding Obito crushed and unconscious under that boulder. Watching that cloudy black eye slip closed was one of the most terrifying experiences of his life. He hadn’t even realized he’d been using Obito’s actual name until Shou had hissed at him to shut up, just as the principal’s aid had come back into the room. For a moment Naruto thought she might actually help him, but all she did was give them a bored look and told Naruto that the principal was waiting on him. In that second Naruto had felt nothing but baffled rage; it took all he had not to lose his temper and squeeze Obito too tightly.

Keeping a tight grip on himself, Naruto took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. Sliding his hand down, Naruto’s fingers came to rest on the side of Obito’s neck. Naruto relaxed marginally as he felt the steady thrum against his fingertips; Obito had a pulse, he was breathing, everything was fine. They were fine. 

Saying nothing, and ignoring Shou’s piercing stare, Naruto hoisted Obito up and against his chest, Naruto’s left arm supporting both of Obito’s legs. He hissed in sympathy when Obito’s burning face fell against his neck, as Naruto had leaned over to grab his bag. Standing back up, Naruto let the bag slide down his wrist as his hand came up and wrapped around the back of Obito’s head and neck. The aid looked confused and marginally irritated, snapping at Naruto.

“Are you just going to ignore what I said? The principal expects your presence, just leave the boy here, he’s faking it.”

Ignoring her, Naruto turned to Shou. “What happened? Why is O-.” Naruto cut himself off, closing his eyes and huffing. “ Why is Kai here? What's the cat doing here?”

Shou gazed up at him, looking seconds away from tears, piercing stare vanishing under Naruto’s calm eyes. “They were beating up Fugly.” Shou spoke so quietly Naruto could barely hear him. “Kai punched one of the girls and kicked a boy, and then they all went at him. They were all bigger than him and another boy got him by the arms and they just wouldn’t stop hitting him.” Shou’s eyes slid away in shame, refusing to look at Naruto. “I couldn’t move until they had him. I should have done something sooner.”

Before Naruto could offer any words of comfort, the aid interrupted them, clearing her throat. “Mr.Uzumaki, I insist that you come with me immediately. Everyone is waiting for you, so I suggest you start moving so we can start the meeting.”

Glancing at her, Naruto curled his lip in anger. He wouldn’t stand for this kind of treatment, not to him, and not to Obito. He briefly ruffled Shou’s hair, giving the boy a pat before putting his hand back on Obito. Shoulder checking the aid, Naruto barged past her and into the office, two dozen pairs of eyes turning to look at him as he came through the door. Naruto watched out of the corner of his eye as Shou’s parent’s gasped, Shou’s mother’s hand coming up to cover her mouth. The other parents gave him disdainful looks, but their kids looked frightened at seeing Kai’s limp form. Naruto didn’t pay them any mind, striding up to the increasingly pale principal. 

Naruto wasn’t proud of it, and he knew he was taking his anger out on someone undeserving, but he let every single person in that room have it, all except for Shou’s parents. He yelled at the principal for not having Kai seen by the nurse, he raged at the aid for her disregard as she hurried back into the room, and then he turned on the parent’s with all the ferocity of the Kyuubi. How dare they raise their children to torture an innocent animal, and to take pleasure in it. How dare they teach them that ganging up on someone smaller than them was alright, especially when he was doing nothing except defending his cat. How dare they have the audacity to stand there and look at him like he was the failure of a parent.

One by one the parent’s looked away from him, faces filled with quiet embarrassment and moderate shame. Naruto didn’t feel the need to say anything to the kids, they knew what they had done was wrong. Naruto could tell by the fact that not a single one of them had not looked anywhere but their shoes for the past few minutes. Several of them were sniffling, and a fair few were outright crying. Naruto didn’t feel happy about it, but he felt satisfied. Maybe now they would know better the next time. 

Finished with his tirade, Naruto didn’t even bother turning back to the principal. He strode right out the door, gently scooping Fugly up as he went by. Shou was still sitting in the office chair, face turned down, obviously thinking about some things. Naruto decided not to bother him.

Briefly, as he strode by the nurses office, Naruto stuck his head in to ask where the nearest doctor’s office was. At this point he wasn’t feeling too generous at the thought of his kid being in the building with these people for any longer than necessary. Barely thanking her, Naruto followed her directions to a small clinic located near the school. The doctors balked at the cat in Naruto’s arm, but cowered under the look he gave them and allowed him to bring her in. 

Naruto didn’t have to wait for long before they hustled Obito into an examination room. Naruto had to fight to remember to refer to Obito as Kai, he was so stressed. Thankfully, nobody else noticed, too busy hustling around Obito’s unconscious form. After a quick examination, the doctors told him it was just a fever, and probably the flu by the looks of it. It was about that time for it to go around, and there had been a recent outbreak at the school. All they said was to keep him hydrated and if his fever gets worse, come back.

And that leads Naruto to now, fretting over some random drink from the fridge as he listened to his kid argue with his best friend. Naruto was tempted to intervene, but he knew that sometimes kids had to work it out on their own. Hopefully, neither of them would lose an arm like he did. Kurama snorted at his passing thought, and Naruto couldn’t help a weak grin. It vanished quickly however, Naruto looking down and fiddling with a dishrag. Had he kept check of himself and not used Obito’s real name in front of Shou, and the aid as well, none of this fighting between them would be happening. Naruto was just infinitely grateful the aid hadn’t seemed to realize Naruto slipped up in his worry for Obito. But Shou was sharper than that, Naruto knew. Even though he was just a teenager he had a good head on his shoulders.

Wincing at the sound of something shattering upstairs, Naruto wasn’t surprised when the shouting abruptly cut off. Focusing more chakra to his ears, Naruto listened as the boy's argument came to a halt.

“Shou, what the hell was that, you idiot?” Obito hissed.

“I don’t know,” Shou hissed back, shaken. “And you don’t get to call me an idiot, you dirty liar!”

“I might be a liar but I’m not the one that broke my dad’s lamp!”

“It was an accident, shut up!” Shou heatedly hissed, and then trailed off. “Do you think he heard it?” Shou sounded stressed now, whispering worriedly at Obito, argument forgotten in the face of possible punishment.

“No way, the walls are too thick. Quick, there's tape in my room, we can still hide this.”

Naruto heard some more shuffling as the boys moved around, quietly bitching at each other to be quiet. Shaking his head, Naruto grinned, and Kurama laughed inside him. There was nothing that brought two people together like hiding something. Naruto’s grin lingered as he listened to the roll of tape unroll, the boys piecing his lamp back together. 

Shou spoke quietly. “Why are you helping me when I’m still mad at you?”

Obito spoke equally as quietly. “Just because we're fighting right now doesn’t mean you’re not still my best friend.”

Shou sniffled, the sound of tape ripping coming to pause. “You’re not lying this time, right?”

Obito’s hair ruffled as he shook his head, voice sounding thick. “Not about something like this.”

They worked in silence for another minute before they were satisfied. Naruto didn’t hear any more words being exchanged as Obito followed Shou briefly back to his room. Panicking at the sound of their footsteps coming down the stairs, Naruto stuck his head into the fridge, looking around for a reasonable distraction. The front door opened and closed as Shou left, and Obito came into the kitchen. 

Naruto knew without looking that Obito had full plans on sitting on the counter, a horrible habit of his, and was proven right when the preteen slowly wormed his way up to the small counter beside the fridge. Naruto resisted the urge to help him up when he slipped off on the first try, knowing that Obito wasn’t that weak despite being sick. Naruto was sure he’d run out of steam soon, but not quite.

Naruto kept his head firmly in the fridge, trying to think of what to say without seeming like he’d been listening in. Naruto could just feel Obito’s burning stare, the younger boy’s suspicion rising like the tide. Without thinking, Naruto grabbed a random item from the fridge, straightening out and closing the door. Naruto didn’t even register what was in his hand until he held it out to Obito.

“Want something to eat? It’s been a while.”

Obito’s look went from burning to disgusted to confused. “Um, Naruto, you good there? This a joke?”

Naruto, confused, looked down at his hand and blanched. It was half a can of Fugly’s wet food, saran wrap over the top. Laughing awkwardly, Naruto set it on the counter beside Obito. 

“It was a joke?” He tried weakly, Obito rolling his eyes. Naruto was surprised when Obito held out his arms, seemingly embarrassed but still determined. Naruto hesitantly drew him into the hug, stooping over when Obito’s arms wound around his neck. Naruto pretended he didn’t feel the white knuckled grip Obito had on the back of his shirt.

Obito murmured in his ear, cheek squished into Naruto’s shoulder. “Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Dad. But I’m okay, me and Shou just need a while to sort it out. He still doesn’t have the whole story yet, but I know he’ll understand when he does. We both just need time. And I’m not mad you said my real name, I know you were worried about me.”

Obito shoved his face deeper into Naruto’s shoulder, rooting in. “Besides, it’s kinda nice to have somebody worrying about me.”

Naruto grinned on reflex, moving his hand to the back of Obito’s head. He gave the thick locks a playful tussle. “Who are you to get so wise huh, punk? One of these days you’re going to be more mature than I am.” Naruto ignored Obito’s snort and let his grin fade away, his hand rubbing soothingly on Obito’s head. “How are you feeling? And I mean really feeling, don’t lie, I can tell.”

Obito slumped further into him, putting away the strong facade he’d been showing since Shou had come over. Naruto let him, casually stepping forward so Obito didn’t slip off the counter, Obito’s face sliding down to press into his stomach instead. Obito’s arms slipped from around his neck and fell around his hips, squeezing him weakly. Naruto’s thumb came farther forward and traced the harsh curves of the scar on Obito’s face, fainter now but still there.

“I’m sticky, and gross, and I need a shower but I’m really sore.” Obito’s grip tightened on Naruto. “I didn’t notice earlier, but what am I wearing underneath my pajamas? It doesn’t feel like my underwear, it feels funny. Did you shove a towel down my pants?” Obito looked up at Naruto, a puzzled expression on his face. It grew even more confused at Naruto’s grimace, Naruto’s hand coming to rest on Obito’s shoulder.

Fuck, Naruto had forgotten.

“Promise you won’t freak out. Just, just listen, okay? Promise to just listen?”

Obito looked wary now, nodding reluctantly.

“You were asleep, you couldn’t help it, it wasn’t your fault, okay?” Naruto was nervous, and didn’t even know how to start explaining, and just kind of started babbling.

Obito’s face started to grow red, the teenager minutely shaking his head.

“It’s not a big deal, I learned how to do it as a genin, and it’s a normal part of having kids, you know? I mean, I didn’t expect to have to, but-”

Obito cut him off, beat red now. “Say it. Just, just say it. Please.” Obito subtly leaned back, hands finding their way to the front hem of Naruto’s shirt.

“It’s a diaper.” Naruto breathed it out in a rush, immediately biting his lip after it came out.

Naruto could almost see the shutters come down, Obito blocking him out as he escaped into his head. The boy’s eye closed, his shoulder’s hunching in as Obito grabbed at the bottom of Naruto’s shirt. Naruto didn’t know what to do, red with embarrassment himself. He crouched down in front Obito, catching his hands as they detached from his shirt. Naruto held them in his own, Obito’s nails digging into the side of Naruto’s palm. Naruto looked up at Obito’s face, frowning at the sight of Obito’s scar, deepened by the way Obito was clenching his eye shut.

Naruto waited patiently for Obito to talk to him, rubbing soothing circles over the back of Obito’s hands. Naruto hummed softly, squeezing Obito’s hands to the rhythm. Gradually, Obito’s shoulder’s began to relax, face smoothing out as Naruto continued. Naruto switched his grip on Obito’s hands, pressing them together, tapping their fingertips together for every beat of the song he was humming. Naruto didn’t know where he knew it from, maybe from the War? It didn’t feel like one of Konoha’s songs, and Naruto didn’t know any lyrics. But the tune sounded nice, and Obito seemed to think so too, by the way he was starting to sway with the music. Naruto didn’t know how he knew how to do this, but he knew he was on the right track.

Obito’s lips cracked open, the boy licking them nervously. Naruto stopped humming, waiting. 

“How.” Obito stopped, clearing his throat. “How many times did you change me?”

“I had to give you a bath twice, in the beginning. Then I sent a clone to the store, and I’ve only changed you a few times since then. I swear.”

Obito cracked his eye open, staring at Naruto’s. “You promise? Nothing else happened, you just changed me? That's all?”

Naruto was confused, but agreed. “Yeah, nothing else happened, all I did was change you. Why, what else do you think happened?”

Obito looked away, unconsciously linking his fingers with Naruto’s. “Nothing, nevermind, I’m just stupid.” He looked back at Naruto, relaxing fully, and weakly grinned. “I trust you, Dad, it’s okay. I’m okay.”

Naruto cocked his head, something weird happening in his stomach. “You promise?” He pressed, unsure as to why. “You can tell me if something’s wrong, you know that, right?”

Obito shook his head, grip tightening on Naruto’s hands. “It’s fine, I’m just embarrassed. I don’t even remember the last time someone had to do that to me, it’s just a weird feeling, is all. I promise.”

Naruto nodded slowly, only marginally satisfied. “Okay bud, I trust you. It’s okay.”

Obito nodded, looking away again, but this time towards the bathroom. He looked between Naruto and the bathroom a couple of times, looking unsure. “I, um, I have to use the bathroom now actually, and I really want a shower.” Naruto nodded, standing up and letting go of Obito’s hands. Naruto was surprised when Obito caught his wrist, eyes trained on the floor. “ But I don’t think I’ll be able to get there on my own.” Obito’s ears were red, and his feet kicked against the counter.

Naruto brought his hand to Obito’s chin, tilting his face up. Obito’s eyes were shiny. “Do you need help when you're in there, or only to get there?”

He shook his head, “Only to get there, I think.”

Naruto nodded, lifting Obito down by the armpits. He wasn’t surprised when Obito’s knees buckled, stepping closer so his side was pressed against Obito’s left. He helped walk Obito over to the bathroom, leaning him against the doorframe to open the door. Naruto propped him up against the doorframe, slowly letting him go and stepping back.

“You alright, Obito?”

Obito nodded, hands steadying himself with the support of the frame. Naruto took a hesitant step back, but rushed forward when Obito started to fall forward. Naruto caught him by the arm, going to the floor with him as he buckled with a yelp. Obito started yelling, startling Naruto, and slammed a fist against the sink cabinet.

“Dammit!”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Naruto cried, grabbing at Obito’s hands. “It’s alright, I’ve got you. I got you.”

Obito looked at him sideways, a burning flush spreading over his face. He glowered miserably at Naruto, chuffing in embarrassment. Naruto was conscious of how shiny his eyes were, but decided ignoring it was the best option, opting to help him stand up. Obito leaned reluctantly against him, letting Naruto move him to the tub. Obito caught Naruto’s hands as he drew back, glancing up petulantly.

“Help?” It was gruff, and grumpy, but it made Naruto smile anyway.

“Let’s make a deal then, kid. I’ll help you, if you decide on dinner?”

“Deal.”

-0-0-0-

Naruto woke up early on the Sunday morning of Christmas Eve, his ceiling fan coming into focus as his groggy eyes adjusted. It was still dark outside, not even the first rays of sun were out yet. Yawning, he tossed an arm over his eye, the other one tossed on the pillow beside him. About to fall back asleep, he flinched as a freezing foot pressed against his side.

“Wake up, Na-Ru-To.”

Naruto groaned, pulling the blanket up over his face. The menace next to him didn’t relent, it’s other foot coming up to shove against the side of Naruto’s blanketed head.

“Naruto, get up. I mean it. Naruto, Naruto, it’s Christmas Eve, the festivals today, you said we could go,” It whined at him. “Daaad, you sworeeee. You said you’d get up and we’d make breakfast and then we’d go shopping and then we’d go to the festival. Daaaad. Dad. Daddy. Papa?”

Naruto groaned again, tossing the blanket down by his feet. Obito, smelling victory, draped himself across Naruto’s stomach. But Naruto was sneakier than that. He dragged the blanket up with his foot, and draped it over them both when it was close enough to grab. Obito tried to fight him, pushing at the blanket, so Naruto took the easy way out and rolled him into it like sushi. Obito wound up lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling while Naruto cuddled him like some sort of stuffed animal. There was just enough loose blanket that it kind of covered Naruto too, and that’s all he needed to go back to bed. 

“You know I’ll win eventually, right Dad?”

Naruto hummed in acknowledgement, already halfway back to sleep. He’d deal with that in the morning.

-0-0-0-

The next time Naruto woke up, it was a much more reasonable time, and the sun was actually out this time around. Obito was asleep on top of him, head slumped half off Naruto’s chest and snoring like a freight train. The teenager had somehow spun himself around during the night and was now chest to chest with Naruto, his head resting right beside Naruto’s heart, and his arms thrown across Naruto’s chest. Naruto almost felt guilty for moving him, but he really had to pee.

He slid Obito off carefully, depositing him to the middle of the bed. He grinned when Obito curled deeper down into the blanket, the only visible part of him being his hair, the black tufts sticking out all over. Fugly wasted no time in swarming up from the bottom of the bed, setting herself up on Obito’s chest. Naruto left the room and did his business, and then made his way downstairs.

Idly, he began to pull out the stuff for breakfast, grabbing a glass of juice for himself as he went. They were going to the festival today, and probably wouldn’t eat again until the evening. The festival was a big hit every year, and one of the biggest attractions around. It made Naruto somewhat nervous about the different people it could draw in, but not enough that he would forbid Obito from going. He’d recovered fully from being sick yesterday, and had been raring to go to the festival ever since. Him and Shou still weren’t talking, but Naruto knew they’d have it figured out eventually.

Naruto finished up breakfast and threw it on two plates, pausing to grab another glass of juice for Obito. Making his way upstairs, he glanced into Obito’s room as he passed by. Since waking up, Obito had been refusing to sleep alone, instead sneaking into Naruto’s bed after he fell asleep. Naruto hadn’t been saying anything, but he didn’t know why Obito was doing it.

Passing the broken lamp, Naruto carefully flicked it on, taking care not to tug too hard and break it again. Carefully sitting on the bed, Naruto put the juice on the bedside table, before poking Obito awake. He pulled down the blanket enough to stab at his cheek with a finger, and Obito muzzily cracked his eye open. He blinked at Naruto, blinked at Fugly on his chest, and tried to roll back over.

“Hey hey hey,” Naruto caught him by the back of the blanket, pulling him closer and ignoring his protests. “You’re the one that wanted to get up early pal, so here we are. I made you breakfast, now sit up and eat it.”

Obito grumbled into the blanket spitefully. “Don’ wan’ your shitty breakfast.”

Naruto laughed, and flicked his ear. When he sat up Fugly scrambled away, and Naruto carefully handed him a plate. Making sure he was eating, Naruto quickly finished his own breakfast as well. Taking the empty plate from Obito when he was done, Naruto sat them on the table beside the juice. He ignored the way Obito was using his blanket as a napkin, and turned back towards him.

“Whenever you’re ready and want to get dressed we’ll head out and do some shopping, okay? The festival starts at 5 so be ready by 4:30.” Naruto flicked him in the forehead for emphasis, and ignored Obito’s scowl so he could drink his juice.

Obito rolled his eyes and clamored out of bed, planting a foot in Naruto's stomach as he climbed over him. He took his juice off the table, and then stole the rest of Naruto’s as well, the little shit. Naruto couldn’t resist tossing a pillow at the back of his head on the way out, basking in the resulting screech.

Turning to Fugly, he gave her a scratch on the head before getting up to get himself ready. Despite himself, Naruto was thrilled for the day as well. He’d only been to a festival a handful of times, and that was stretching it. Naruto figured it was the same for Obito. 

It was going to be an amazing day.

-0-0-0-

“Dad, Dad, look! Takoyaki!” Obito dragged Naruto after him, his small hand locked in a death grip around Naruto’s wrist. Naruto followed dutifully, weaving between the other festival goers and barely managing to dodge a group of distracted tourists. In Naruto’s other hand he juggled a stuffed animal Obito had won and 2 candy apples. There had almost been a goldfish to add to the mix but Obito had had the unfortunate revelation that it wouldn’t last long under Fugly’s household, and had cheerfully given it to a small girl nearby. Needless to say, Naruto was glad he wasn’t the one to have to bring that up.

Letting Obito tug him up to the register, he dutifully pulled out his wallet, idly refusing some takoyaki for himself. He hadn’t been able to eat it since befriending B, as he was reminded too much of his friend and fellow jinchuuriki. Ruffling a hand through Obito’s hair, Naruto squinted at the sky, and a bright smile took over his features as he tugged Obito closer.

Obito glanced up at him, cheeks bulging comically with his snack. “Hah?”

Naruto grinned mischievously, poking at Obito’s cheek as he ducked away from him, swatting at Naruto’s hand. Undeterred, Naruto fastened a hand to Obito’s collar and dragged him back, resting a calming hand on his forehead as he squirmed.

“The fireworks are going to start soon, I think.”

Ire forgotten, Obito whipped his eyes to the sky, choking down his takoyaki as he judged the time by the barely visible stars. He brightened as he realized Naruto was right, head craning farther back as a smile stole across his face, eyes flickering back to Naruto. Naruto stared down curiously as Obito kept his gaze fixed on him, eyes scanning over his face before his mouth set in a determined line. He grabbed at Naruto’s hand, still on his forehead, and started tugging at Naruto’s hand again. But this time, it was in the opposite direction, back towards where they’d come from.

“Ob- I mean, Kai?” Naruto wasn’t sure what was going on, but he had been positive Obito had wanted to watch the fireworks. He’d only been talking about it for the past week, is all, Naruto thought exasperated. Kurama grunted in agreement.

Obito briefly glanced back, his grip tightening on Naruto’s hand. “Trust me?”

Naruto didn’t hesitate, squeezing his hand back. “Of course.”

-0-0-0-

Slowing to a stop in front of their house, Obito finally turned to face him, hand coming up and squeezing at his own shoulder. He scuffed the ground and didn’t look up at Naruto, face flushing as he kicked at a rock.

“I, I was just thinking it’d be nice if we could watch them together. Just us, but at home, with Fugly and everything.” His ears grew a darker red as he glanced up at Naruto. “You know, as a family?”

It felt like the air was punched out of Naruto’s chest at family, the older boy unconsciously grabbing at the front of his shirt. “Yeah?”

Naruto couldn’t hide how strangled his voice sounded, or fight the beaming smile scrawling itself across his face. Obito couldn’t fight his own helpless smile, shoulder’s relaxing at the sight of Naruto being just as flustered.

“Yeah.”

Naruto didn’t waste anymore time as he and Obito stole into the house, quickly putting their stuff away. Naruto stashed the apples in the fridge as Obito spent a comical minute coaching Fugly from underneath his bed, the cat having clawed her way up into the boxspring. Obito came downstairs just as Naruto was pulling open the back door, the cold outside stealing quickly into the house. Naruto beckoned Obito over, flicking on the outside light as he studied the sky in the direction of the fair. Unfortunately, a fair bit of the house blocked their view. 

Naruto could almost sense Obito deflating, but Naruto still had something up his sleeve. Its almost like Obito had forgotten they were ninjas, what with being forced by Naruto to take it easy until he was completely healed from his injuries. Pressing a finger over his lips, Naruto looked at Obito before pointedly glancing up at the roof, the younger boy’s face lighting up. Naruto turned and leapt up first, stealing Fugly from Obito’s arms before he did and depositing her on the roof. Naruto didn’t even have the chance to turn around before Obito was blasting himself up as well. Unluckily, probably due to several months of using limited chakra and strength, Obito overestimated, and started sailing directly towards the other edge.

“Shit!” They yelped at the same time, Obito pinwheeling in the air. Naruto would almost be laughing if he wasn’t worried about Obito cracking his head open. Leaping after him, Naruto skidded up to the other edge, reaching out and just catching Obito by the front of his jacket. It took Naruto a satisfying amount of chakra to stay on the roof, which was good. It meant Obito was getting heavier.

Pulling him back onto the roof, Naruto made a split second decision. Instead of putting him back on his feet, Naruto hauled him up higher, Obito wriggling in vain protest. He grew still when Naruto spun him gently, and sat him on Naruto’s shoulders. Tentatively, Obito gripped Naruto’s thick blonde hair, gradually relaxing.

Before anything else could be said, the fireworks started.

The first to come was a giant red star shape, exploding into a miasma of colors in the sky. Obito gasped excitedly, leaning precariously forward to get a better look. Naruto stared up too, but not at the fireworks. It was at the joy on Obito’s face, the bright flashing colors illuminating the exhilaration on Obito’s face like a beacon. Naruto’s throat felt tight as small hands tightened their grip in his hand, thick calloused betraying how strong they actually were. How strong this boy actually was. In that moment, Naruto felt nothing but pride in the boy Obito had become. Nothing but joy at the thought of the man Obito would eventually come.

Of course, just as Naruto was about to say something embarrassingly sappy to Kurama, the fox already armed with a joke, Fugly decided it was a perfect time to fight the great God of the sky. Yowling, the cat used Naruto’s shoulder as a springboard, unaware of the way both boy’s startled horribly. The cat sailed through the air, going higher than Naruto had thought possible, before, of course, plummeting towards the ground several tens of meters below.

‘I should have drowned that thing in the bay,’ Naruto thought uncharitably as he went lunging after Fugly, Obito’s panicked scream ringing through his ears. Kurama hummed in agreement, he himself harboring an inexplicable hate of the animal. 

‘Agreed, brat.’

-0-0-0-

After watching the rest of the fireworks with Obito, Fugly held in a death grip under his arm, Naruto was beyond ready for bed. After dropping back to the porch and heading inside, it didn’t take long for them to get showered and in pajamas. Naruto covertly created a clone to put the presents under the tree, distracting Obito so he wouldn’t notice. Tonight, as Naruto crawled into bed, Obito didn’t bother to wait for him to fall asleep. With exactly no embarrassment or self consciousness, Obito scurried in right beside him.

They adjusted so Naruto was laying on his right, and Obito his left. They stared tiredly at one another, Naruto offering up a weak grin, and Obito returning it. Reaching out, the younger boy tugged at the corner of his pillow, pulling at the case.

“Did you have a good day too, Naruto?” Obito asked, eyebrows scrunched. “It wasn’t just to make me happy, right?”

Naruto sighed, reaching out for the front of Obito’s shirt. “C’mere,” he grumbled, tugging him closer. When Obito was close enough, Naruto curled his hand around the back of Obito’s head, and put their foreheads together. Naruto waited patiently for Obito to look him in the eye, his bad one closed. Naruto only spoke when he did.

“Today was one of the best days of my life, kid. I wouldn’t have it any other way. You got it?”

He ruffled Obito’s hair roughly, the boy grinning back at him.

“Yeah,” he murmured. “I got it.”


End file.
